Nights Out
by WaspInterprizes
Summary: A lonely ballerina hardly knows what she's got herself into when his greedy gaze falls on her dancing one evening. But little does he know she's as stubborn and strong as he is. What follows becomes a battle of wills during their nights out in Dublith.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **One**

Greed picked up two beautiful women one weeknight and humored them by asking them where they wanted to go that evening.

The younger brunette just giggled. Unsure and little uneasy as most humans were when they were fist introduced to him. She was new to the Nest, one of the many women from this part of Dublith that had found their way to his hangout…and to him. The blond one smiled and thought for few moments. It wasn't the first time she had spent the evening (and later the night) with Greed, and she a peculiarly level head compared to most of the ladies that frequented his hangout. She finally said (Linda? Belinda? Wasn't her name something like that?) that she had a friend, an older gentleman, who Greed might be interested in speaking with.

This gentleman, she told him and also the blond by proxy as they walked through the city streets, was a business man. A wealthy, successful businessman always looking, she said, for risk takers like himself as well as new and powerful connections. Greed smiled to hear this. Linda, or Belinda, was perceptive; he wondered how she knew that he was always looking for new ways to make money, or that shady business was his specialty. Not to mention that he was more powerfully connected than almost anyone in the entire country. Maybe she didn't know any of these things. Maybe she just assumed that he was, like most people, greedy. Well, greedy he was.

He ushered both ladies though an ornate door where a Butler took their coats. They were meeting this man at the ballet, and for the first time ever Greed found himself wearing a suit. He felt almost ill at ease in the apparel, but the blond assured him that once he put on a long black coat over the suit and exchanged his sunglasses for regular glasses, he would fit right in. He had, and even Linda agreed that he looked particularly dashing. " I belive you." He had said laughing.

As they were led up to the box seats where other people of considerable influence were seated, Greed had a passing wonder if perhaps Envy was here tonight. After all, a ballet seemed like the droll type of affair that the ugly monster would love to disguise himself for. Greed frowned. He definitely did not want to see Envy here tonight. His least favorite of all his brothers and sisters, just being in the same room with the other Homunculi put him in a bad mood.

"You're frowning, darling."

Greed looked down to Belinda. She was smiling but he knew she was worried. After all, this had all been her idea. If he became upset than he would blame her.

"Nothing is wrong, beautiful lady. I was thinking about somethin' else."

She smiled and let him kiss her on the lips before they were suddenly in the balcony with an old man and a woman who was either his daughter or a wife much too young for him.

The old man stood up to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you sir."

"Name's Greed. Nice to meet ya too."

"This is my wife, Carolyn."

The younger woman stepped forward and also shook hands with Greed.

"Carolyn. _Especially_ nice to meet you."

The old man laughed as Carolyn blushed and went back to her seat with a program and a pair of opera glasses.

 _Let the old man laugh._ Greed thought. He wasn't joking when he decided Carolyn was just another thing he would take from this old man.

"Oooh, look it's starting!" Greed's young blond companion shouted as she went to the edge of the balcony to take her seat. The ladies all settled in as the music for the ballet started to play, and as the lights in the theater dimmed Greed and the old man, whose name was Silas, started to discuss business.

Greed had to hand it to (Be?)-Linda; it was the exact kind of thing he would have thought of himself. And of course, he wasn't taking orders. It was a partnership. He and Silas would take equal risks, and split the profits fifty-fifty. At least for a while.

And all this was decided even before the intermission. Greed sat back in his chair, sighing. What a productive trip. Life could be so satisfying some times. The other homunculi had no idea-they were too busy acting as Father's slaves.

Silas went out to meet someone in the lobby and Greed moved up to Carolyn, Linda, and the blond who were sitting close to the edge watching the performance. The blond girl was trying to chew on a fingernail through her fancy evening gown gloves, her eyes following the action on stage with clear delight. Carolyn was gripping the rail of their box tightly, clearly moved by whatever was going on. Belinda was as cool as ever.

He glanced at the stage, where a man and woman in fancy costume were circling around each other on the stage. "So this is ballet, huh?"

All three women answered at the same time.

"Isn't it great?"

"Shhh!"

"You're just now noticing?"

Greed looked back to the stage. Yeah, there was no way he was going to sit and watch this for two hours now that he and Silas' business was concluded. At intermission he decided he would take the blond and Linda back to the Devil's Nest.

In the meantime he leaned back. Couldn't be that many minutes left could there?

His eyes drifted around the spectators. If Envy was here tonight he didn't see him. His eyes drifted over the bright chandelier and the painting on the ceiling. The twinkling music drifted into his ears. His eyes drifted back to the stage.

There were more people on the stage now. Smaller dancers-children-were circling around the male and female lead.

The man was good-although he had a naturally cheery disposition that didn't quite fit in with the tragic drama of the dance.

The woman on the other hand was clearly a master of her craft. She looked youngish-definitely not past her mid-20's. Greed couldn't tell what color her eyes were from here, but she had auburn hair that caught the light even from up here where he was sitting.

By no means did she have her partner's naturally happy aura; her face, intentionally or unintentionally, reflected the drama of the story. But it wasn't her face that caught his attention.

She danced on stage like…

…Well, the only other people he had seen move as gracefully were the other homunculi, but she definitely wasn't a homunculus. But she did move her body with the speed and skill of a fighter. Perhaps she was a fighter. A secret assassin or a spy.

Watching her, head in his hand, he felt himself enter a state he could only describe as a trance. Around and around the stage she twirled. The other dancers were there too but she outshone them so that they just became background objects like the stage or the curtain. The way she moved…it was hypnotic. He only became distracted when he noticed the hurting, twisting feeling in his stomach. An empty, craving deep inside him. To possess something he wanted but did not yet have.

Without taking his eyes off the ballerina, he turned to the blond beside him. "Who is that?"

She checked her program. "Elizabeth Ensley. Do you know her?"

"Not yet."

She laughed. "Oh, you."

"Oh me." He said to himself quietly, completely oblivious to the fact that if someone were to look over at him now they would see him smiling to himself for seemingly no reason at all. In fact, someone across the theatre, a young boy at the ballet with his parents for the very first time, did look over, and nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of this man, who seemed a little off in a suit and tie, as if it didn't quite fit him, smiling like a cat watching a goldfish swim around in circles, knowing that it has all the time in the world to make his attack.

….

The ballet ran every night for the next three weeks.

Greed attended every night except the last.

And Elizabeth Ensley, the young star of the ballet, received spectacular gifts in her dressing room every night except the last.

Her dressing room, which was usually filled with flowers after a performance from the fans, had in attention at least one strange and expensive object every night.

The first night it was some exotic bird from Xing delivered in a gilded cage and worth probably a fortune.

The second night there was an hourglass, the sands of which were glistening dust from powdered rubies, emeralds, and sapphires.

And so it continued for the next three weeks: red roses tied in bouquets with ropes of pearls, clothes scented with perfume from across the sea, a beautiful Ishvalan music box that played a sad desert tune when she opened the lid.

The other dancers grew jealous, but Elizabeth grew more frightened each night. She was not as old as Greed had thought, she was in fact weeks shy of her twentieth birthday, but she had lived enough to know that no one ever gives so extravagantly unless they want something in return. She begged the delivery boy, sometimes to the point of tears, to please take the gifts back, or to at least tell the giver to desist, but the boy would shake his head sadly, wishing he could help the beautiful dancer, but explain that he had no idea who was sending the gifts or how to get ahold of said person. Whoever sent them sent them straight to the delivery service who then sent them to him to deliver in person.

When she danced she would sometimes scan the crowds with her eyes, searching for whoever the mysterious gift giver might be. Could it be the Officer Nichols, sitting in his private box? He was known for his numerous affairs with dancers and actresses; perhaps he was seeking to begin one with her? Or perhaps it was the aging Baron Learuex, who was the only person surely who was wealthy enough to keep sending these priceless gifts, and whose wife had passed away less than a year ago and was clearly very lonely? One thing was for sure, she was certain it could not be the man with the short bristly hair and the glasses. She was sure she had never met him before, but he always sat in the front row with a very intense gaze upon her face. It unnerved her, but how could he be her secret admirer when he sat with his arms around the women on either side of him each night?

On the last night of the performance she didn't pay attention to the crowds, she decided it was of no use. Strange to say that that night no gift showed up, and for the first time in weeks she breathed a sigh of relief. Things would surely go back to normal now.

And they did, until a month later when she was attending a ball held for one of the bigwigs at Dublith's electric company.

She, along with several of the other most popular dancers, actors, and actors, were there, not because they were members of the Amestrisian aristocracy, but because they were "encouraged" by their agents, managers, directors, etc. to show up and basically promote themselves by showing their faces. Errol and Adaline Minks, Elizabeth's agents, had similarly ordered her to attend. They were both at the party themselves, because unlike Elizabeth they had been born into the secret and glamorous world of high society. A world which she now found herself surrounded by, but not quite involved in. It were as if she were always standing on the edge of the sand where the waves break against the shore, getting her feet wet but not able to swim.

Elizabeth milled about for a bit a bit, chatting here with another dancer she knew or introducing someone there.

When midnight rolled around the musicians started to play the first waltz, and across the room Elizabeth saw Adaline and Errol nod at her, their eyes saying, " _Now is your time to do your job."_

So she set down her glass of champagne, smiling for the people were now watching, and walked up to the center of the ballroom with a young soldier and led the first dance with him through the room.

It was just the two of them, twirling around through the circle cleared by the crowd to a song that started slowly but whose beat grew quicker with each step.

The crowd gathered around them clapped and smiled as she and the soldier made each difficult step with a graceful or clever turn.

Suddenly the mood in the room shifted. The happy carefree atmosphere that had previously been the case seemed to dissolve as a strain of tension erupted.

Elizabeth couldn't see what was going, the dance was too quick now, but in the blur she did a few people shift and murmur uneasily as well as a few nervous looks.

She and her partner were twirling close the crowd now, so close that she could almost feel the body heat coming from them.

Happening so quickly that she missed it, she unexpectedly looked up to find that she had a new dance partner.

People in the crowd were whispering now, confused and a little alarmed. And no wonder, the man she was dancing with now looked like someone who shouldn't have even been allowed through the door.

Black pants, shiny black boots, and a long black coat that trailed down past the knees were hardly the apparel appropriate of this black tie affair. But more than just his clothes, there was something else about the man that didn't quite seem right. It might have had to do with the hungry expression on his face or the cat-like way that he moved. It could have been all these things, but it had to be something else too.

Off to the side somewhere, the young soldier she had been dancing with was scratching his head, confused about what happened. Someone next to him explained that he had been dancing with miss Ensley when the man in black pulled him away and quickly and took his place.

All this had happened without even a disruption in the dance. She was still twirling, but now her hands were interlocked with this stranger's.

She looked at where their hands were joined together. His hands, much bigger than hers or even the soldier's, held hers a little too tightly. She saw a tattoo on the back of his hand. Mesmerized, she drew her gaze up to his face, which was already smiling down at hers.

Of course she immediately recognized him.

The man from all of her performances, who always sat in the front, watching her.

He raised his eyebrows at the surprised expression on her face, as if it humored him, and his eyes shined.

She wanted to confront him, and ask him if he had sent all of the presents she had been receiving, and why he had cut into the dance like this, and what exactly he wanted from her, but they were dancing too fast now.

In fact, they were dancing furiously. Holding on to each other they stepped and twirled so quickly and lightly on their feet that she was sure they must have been floating. Never, not even with her professional partners, had she been able to dance like this before. For the first time she realized that every time she had danced with someone else before she had been holding back. That her partners had held back. But now, finally, she had reached her potential. With this man she was at the peak of her dancing powers.

When the waltz finally ended he asked her to dance with him again. At first she wanted to pull away, leave this nightmare and the headache it was giving her behind, but she knew she couldn't do that. She needed answers.

He smiled when she said yes, and pulled her closer. He kept one of her hands in his, and the other he put around her waist. _How dare he act like that? So cocky and assured. It is a goddamn honor to get to dance with me._ She thought in a rare moment of conceit.

She cleared her throat more loudly than she had intended to.

"Got something to say?" He said.

"Yes."

He waited patiently for her to go on.

She had to think for a moment where to begin.

"Well?" He said.

 _Not so patient after all._

She surprised herself by saying the one thing she hadn't considered until this moment.

"You don't look like someone who dances."

"I'm not. I've never danced before in my life."

"You've never danced before in your life? I find that difficult to believe."

"Believe it, sweetheart. I'm not a liar."

"But then how do you do it so well? It was amazing, like nothing I've ever seen…" Her brows drew together in confusion as her voice trailed off.

He spoke quickly, his voice, probably intentionally, pulling her back to the present. Back to him.

"Well, I learned something about myself a long time ago."

"What's that?" She said, sounding almost trusting.

"I'm good at almost everything I do. And with my power and agility, most things you humans find challenging come especially easy to me."

She almost pulled away in disgust. So he was a liar. Or was he really so arrogant that he danced for the first time in front of a crowd of people just because he knew he would be good at it? Either way, she couldn't believe this man.

"Bastard." She muttered under her breath, so quietly she was sure he wouldn't be able to hear.

She was wrong. He threw his head back and laughed.

She noticed that he showed all his teeth when he laughed, and that they were sharp, wicked looking things that made him look like a wolf when he smiled.

The last words he spoke caught up with her. "Wait, what did you mean when you said "you humans"? What are you saying now, that you aren't human?" She said sarcastically.

"Lady…" he started, pulling her closer. But when he did, she turned her head away and scowled. "I'm sorry. _My_ Lady, is it?" He said more softly, bending down so he could speak into her ear. He really was very tall. "You seem like you have a lot of questions. Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable and I'll try to answer them as best I can." His other hand, which had been holding hers, had somehow found its way to her elbow, which he was stroking with his thumb surprisingly gently.

She pulled his hand away. "No thanks. And it's not 'my lady'. I'm not a lady. My name is Elizabeth."

He smiled, showing his pointy teeth again. "Elizabeth." He said, as if she had just handed him a gift.

She stared at him for a moment, this strange man staring down at her, who maybe wasn't a man at all but some sort of monster, but for some reason she found herself saying, "Beth."

"Huh?" He said.

"Just call me Beth."

"Well alrighty then, Beth." Are you sure you don't want to leave with me? We don't have to go to my place, we could go to yours, or a hotel, or a comfortable bench…"

He trailed off after seeing the look on her face. "Hey hey, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't say anything about _that._ I just want to get to know you better. We can just talk. You can ask me questions long into the night and I'll answer them as best I can…"

"That almost sounds worse. I'm not sure I even want to know anymore. I think I just want you to leave and never speak to me again."

"Well, I can see you must be tired or in a bad mood tonight since my charms aren't working like they almost always do, so how about this? I'll leave you my card."

He held out a shiny black card between two fingers.

She took it hesitantly. There were only three words on it.

 **THE DEVIL'S NEST**

She turned back up to him. "What is this?"

"It's where you can contact me when you are ready. Which I hope won't be too long." He winked at her.

She thought about pointing out that there wasn't even an address on the card, but she decided he might take that as encouragement. And then she was a little insulted _. Did he really need to hand her this card? Why couldn't he have just told her? Did he think she was incapable of remembering three measly words? Arrogant, mean-spirited-_

"Well okay, doll. I've gotta get going now. I hope I hear from you before you hear from me."

"Is that a threat?" She asked. He was smiling, and he seemed very casual, but she wondered if he were actually dangerous. Should she be worried?

"Nope. It's a promise."

"So it is a threat."

He shrugged. "You sure do like to twist my words. I'm not gonna hurt you. Is that what you mean?"

He didn't wait for her to reply. "Lookin' forward to your next performance, Beth."

With that he kissed her on the hand and left.

Suddenly standing alone in the midst of the crowd, she was aware that people were staring at her.

She straightened her shoulders and started to make her way away. Her manager Errol stopped her on her way out. "Who was that, Elizabeth?

Beth shrugged. "I have no idea. He didn't even give me his name."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Author's Note: I'd like to thank the people that followed and favorited the first chapter, as well as Anonymous J for reviewing!**

 **Two**

"You've been so busy, Mr. Greed. You should really take a break."

Greed didn't need to look up to know that it was Martel that had spoken. The only female in his gang of chimeras, she was also the only person who would suggest something so personal, something the rest of the male chimeras would never dare to do.

"You don't need to take a break from doing what you love." Greed said, looking over financial sheets. He really had accumulated quite a bit of money, which he spread out over banks all around the world.

"Well said, Boss." Said one of the others, a chimera named Roa. "Say, whatever happened to that dancer you sent all those presents to? Did she-"

He stopped abruptly, wondering, since he had never seen her, if perhaps she had turned Greed down. No, that couldn't be possible. But if it were…would Greed be angry at his bringing it up?

Luckily, Greed shot him a toothy grin. "Still in development, pal." Greed really didn't get angry as often as people might think; he usually had to be provoked to it.

"Oh, I see. Shame you must wait so long."

"Not really. Money, women, power. Those all great, but the pursuit is half the fun. Great things take time. People always assume that because I'm greedy I'm also impatient, which isn't true at all. I can wait. There are some things that I've waited years for."

Greed looked up and saw everyone looking at him, listening. He had forgotten that he wasn't speaking to himself. Putting his papers down, he balled his hands into fists and stretched, bringing himself to his full height and rocking on the balls of his feet. He sighed in relief. "What time is it?" He asked no one in general.

"11:30." and "Almost midnight." Were the simultaneous answers from around the room.

Greed laughed, scratching his back. "Just one answer is fine, guys." He glanced around. "I'm gonna head out for a while. Watch over the place… and people better be having fun in here when I get back. I want to hear the music from the street before I even step foot back inside."

"You got it, sir."

Greed left the steps and hurried out through the streets that were still wet from rain.

….

Beth wondered if she would need her coat, but when she got outside she realized that it must have quit raining hours ago. All around her other students were trickling out of the library, which closed at midnight.

She was making sure it was safe to cross both sides of the street when a voice from behind made her turn and jump.

"Hey."

It was him. His legs were crossed and he was leaning against the wall of a building looking extremely comfortable.

"What do you want?" She said, a little squeakier than she had intended.

"I thought it was obvious. I came to see you."

She quietly took a pencil out of her coat pocket. It hadn't been sharpened in a while, but surely she would be able to inflict enough damage to get away if he came near her?

He laughed as if he could read her thoughts. "Oh come on, if you really wanted to hurt me, that pencil wouldn't even leave a scratch, trust me."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come to a party at my place tonight."

"At the 'Devil's Nest'?"

"You remembered! I thought maybe you must have forgotten since you didn't call."

She made a split–second decision. Lunging for him, she curled her hand into a fist and aimed for his face. Before she could even touch him he had her hand above his in the air. But she had been counting on that, and quickly, with her pencil hand, she jabbed the pencil into his throat.

Blood oozed out of the wound but for some reason he had yet to drop her hand.

To her horror, he smiled. Curling his hand around hers, he brought both their hands up to the pencil, which they pulled out of his throat together. "I believe this is yours?" He said, handing the pencil to her, which was still dripping with blood.

"Thanks." She said, and everything went black.

…..

She woke up in the same area where she had passed out. They were still in front of the library, but now they were sitting on a ledge outside of the building. His arm was around her and he was pushing the hair away from her face with cold hands.

"Ah, you're awake. That was some tumble you took."

She rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit groggy. She tried to push him away but he wouldn't let her. "Let go of me." She growled.

"Nah. It's pretty cold outside. If you're not careful you could get sick."

"You're not warm." She muttered, and he laughed and let go of her.

He stretched both his hands along the back of the bench. "Fine, have it your way."

She prodded her head gently, feeling for any bruises. "Where did I fall? I could have a concussion."

"You really think I would have just watched as a lady fell on the ground and hit her head? I'm not that unsophisticated. "

"So you caught me?"

"Sure did."

The thought of him holding her made her want to pass out all over again. She stood up to leave.

"You can thank me later, I guess."

"I'll be going now."

He got up with her. "Hey wait! Isn't it customary to give a guy a kiss when he does something noble?"

"Who told you that?"

"Past experience." He said as if it were obvious.

He was wearing a different outfit tonight than when she had danced with him at the ball. He still had the fingerless black leather gloves, and the black boots and pants. But instead of a long black coat he was wearing a fur-lined vest and a black shirt underneath which left both of his muscular arms quite bare.

She had been well aware of his height, but looking at his muscular arms now for the first time she knew that outfighting him was simply not an option. And of course, the fact that he had pulled a pencil out of his neck and didn't even have a scar had to mean something.

"What do you want?"

"You." He smiled.

She stared at him, face completely stoic, and his smile slowly faded.

"Well, er, short term I wanted you to come with me tonight. But after what just happened, you might not feel up to it, so how about you let me walk you home? The streets can be mean at this hour to a pretty lady like you."

"I'm fairly sure that _you_ are the type of reason why women are afraid to walk alone at night."

"You've got it all wrong, sweetheart. I would never hurt a woman. That's just not the kinda guy that I am."

She was feeling a little dizzy still. Whether or not what he was saying was true, without assistance she probably wouldn't be able to protect herself if she encountered any other dangers, thanks to her headache.

"Ok."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But you have to agree to tell me why the pencil didn't hurt you, and why you told me at the ball that you weren't human."

"Deal. But I'll wait until we're at your door just in case you don't keep your end of the deal."

"Whatever." She muttered as they made their way back to her house.

When she told him her address, he told her he knew a shortcut, but halfway through their walk she realized they were taking the long way around.

The corner of his mouth crooked upward when she voiced her suspicions. "It depends on which way you look at it. And this way you've learned a new way to get home in case you can't go your usual way."

"I'm not really sure I would ever say to myself, 'Hmm. Today I think I'll take the dark way through all the back alleys that that creepy stalker guy showed me.' She said. Looking around, she really was glad of his presence. He was taking her through some areas of the city that she had never seen before and not really ever wanted to see to begin with. And although he looked as rough as any of the suspicious characters that they crossed, she knew that, at least for the moment, he wouldn't hurt her. He was on her side, and he looked as if he could probably hold his own against any of these people.

In fact, in the short time since she had met him and spent time with him, she had never met a man who was more full of contradictions. At times he was both gallant and indelicate, gentle and violent, humorous and dark, selfish but well-aware. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he stepped over a puddle and then reached up to touch a hanging sign over a shop. It was strange. He was like someone who was not exactly stuck somewhere between boy and man, but someone who was fully fledged with bits of both.

She turned quickly away but he caught her glance. "What?"

"I'm just wondering…what are you?"

He jerked his chin towards the doorway. "This your place?" He asked, ignoring her question.

She looked and saw that they were at her apartment. She lived in a small apartment above a candy store.

"Yes."

He smiled. "Then I guess I can tell you now."

"Well?"

"Aren't you gonna invite me in first?"

"NO!" Beth shouted. Then she looked around, hoping she hadn't woken anyone. She hadn't meant to say it so loudly. "No." She whispered more quietly this time.

He twisted his finger in his ear as if he were trying to clean the sound out. " _Sheesh_. No need to screech. I was just asking."

"Sorry." She said, actually meaning it a little. After all, he hadn't really been rude. He was actually very polite, albeit persistent. He was forcing her to be the rude one, and she hated that.

"Fine. You go to the library a lot?"

"Every night." She replied, wondering where this was going.

"Every night? Who the hell in their right mind would go to the library every night? Or any night, for that matter…" He leaned his elbow against the doorframe, his head in his hand.

She shrugged her shoulders, surprised at how hurt she was by his comments. "I like to learn."

"So go to school or something."

"I can't. I'm under contract as a dancer for my two managers. I have practice everyday."

"So go to night school or something."

"That would mean leaving practice early and my mangers definitely wouldn't allow that."

"What are they, your bosses?"

"Pretty much. They make all my decisions for me."

"I would never let anyone boss me around. Being your own boss is the best thing in the world."

"Good for you."

"Hmm. What are your bosses' names?"

"Errol and Adaline. Why?"

"No reason. "

"Okay…" She thought he might answer her unspoken question as most people would at such an obvious grasp for more, but he just stared back at her, arms crossed, looking somehow both bored and amused at the same time. "So…what about the library?"

"Oh, right. What do you know about alchemy?"

"Not very much. Nothing at all really."

"Well, since you won't let me inside, I'll just tell you this: Read about it. Mainly the forbidden parts."

"…Alright."

"Heh heh. You'll see what I mean. And then you'll let me inside, because you'll really be curious then. Trust me."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't exactly have a trustworthy face."

Laughing he tried to pinch her cheek, but she swatted his hand away. "Stay beautiful, doll. Don't ever change."

Turning away, he waved his hand goodbye without looking back.

…

The librarian, who knew her very well by now, raised his eyebrows when she asked for any books he had on alchemy.

Most of the books he gave her were generic, introduction to alchemy for beginners and the like, and Beth found it to be mostly dull reading.

When she brought them back to the librarian, and asked for the juicy, forbidden stuff that alchemists weren't supposed to do, he glanced over his shoulder quite nervously and then said very loudly, "No we don't have any books about training horses at the moment, but I can have some ordered as soon as possible." And then, leaning down close to her, he whispered, "Those books are forbidden for civilians, the only place you can find something like that is from the military's archives, or if you happen to have a friend who collects rare and forbidden books." He face softened when he saw how hers fell at his words. "Cheer up, Beth. What would a nice girl like you want with something like that anyway?"

"I don't want to use it. I'm just looking for answers. I guess now I need to make some shady friends."

The librarian frowned; he was clearly as upset at her disappointment as she was.

But the next night, when she went back to the library and asked to collect the books she had put on hold, and went to one of the tables to start studying, she noticed a book that she had not requested in her pile.

The cover was dark blue, and had no title or name of the author.

A note fell out when she opened the first page.

"You're a nice girl, and you've been coming to my library for years now. And any time books are shared, that normally constitutes some sort of friendship, right?" It was the librarian's handwriting.

She glanced up from the note towards the librarian, who winked at her and then went back to stamping books as if nothing had happened.

She smiled to herself, and swore to never turn a book in late again.

…..

"So did you take my advice?" Days later, he was leaning against the same spot where he had met her last time, outside of the library late at night.

"I did, actually."

Sliding his foot down the wall, he pushed himself off and stepped into rhythm with her as she made her way through the streets.

"And?"

"Well, there was a lot of stuff in the book, most of it I didn't really understand, but I read one interesting chapter, about beings called Homunculi."

He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. "Oh boy, now we're getting somewhere."

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look up at him. "It can't be true, can it? That you're a homunculus?"

As she had noticed usually happened when he was asked something serious, he appeared flustered for a moment. "What do you think?"

They locked eyes for a moment, before she finally looked away and started walking again.

"I don't know." She said, not looking at him anymore but still feeling his gaze on the side of her face. "I mean, I know that those things are forbidden, that they were myths to begin with. But…"

"But?"

"…I also know what I saw. I saw you heal more quickly than it would be possible for a human to do. And of course, there is the symbol on your hand."

"You noticed that?"

"Of course."

They were at her apartment now; they stopped in front of her doorway after climbing up the steps.

"So are you a homunculus?"

"Yes."

Her keys jingled as she unlocked her creaky door. "So you're a monster."

"Hey, hey, hey. " Putting out an arm against the doorway he blocked her path inside. "That's not a nice thing to call someone."

"Well, aren't you?" She said quietly, putting a hand on his arm and trying to gently nudge it down.

His skin, which was usually cold, was warm to the touch; she realized that right now her hands were freezing. When she touched him she felt his bicep twinge just a bit, and to her amazement, he got out of her way.

"I guess it depends on who you ask. But no, we aren't monsters. No more than you humans are."

She went inside, expecting that he would follow, but he just stood there, so tall his head almost touched the top of the doorway. "So are you going to invite me in?"

"What are you a vampire or something? Do you need an invitation to come inside?"

He grinned, ducking his head and stepping inside, his footsteps surprisingly quiet despite his boots. "Nope."

He was probably thinking the same thing that she had just realized: that he had wanted her to specifically ask him to come inside, to show that she wanted him to.

Making her way through the house, she set her books down, and then went to boil some water on the stove for tea. "So…are the other things true as well? Chimeras and resurrection? Philosopher's stones?"

"Yep. All of it. Must have been some book you got there." He went into the living room and sat on her sofa, stretching out his long longs and putting his hands behind his head with a yawn. In this homey environment, she thought, he somehow managed to look even more menacing than usual. "Nice place ya got here. Kinda small for my taste, but I guess it still looks pretty classy. How's a lady as young as you are afford a place this nice?"

"I'm glad you like it." She said sarcastically. "And I don't. It's not actually mine; it's my managers'. They own it and I just live here. They pretty much own me, too. "

"How's that?"

"Everything I do is for them. I practice all day and then do performances. It all goes to them. All the money and such."

"You could always stop, ya know."

"I'm under contract. I can't stop."

"Ah." He said. He looked around for a bit. "Hey, look at that!" He pointed up to the wall, where chirping overhead was the exotic bird from Xing that he had sent her. "You got my presents. I was worried they maybe got lost in the mail or something."

Still in the kitchen, stirring some sugar into the tea leaves, she scowled. "Of course it was you who sent them. I had forgotten to ask."

"Looks like you liked them." Turning his head back and forth, he scanned the room. "Where are the rest of them?"

"In that box over there in the corner."

"What? Why?!"

"I don't want any of them."

"How come?"

Walking slowly, so as not to spill the steaming cup, she said, "Well first off, they are too expensive. Second, and most importantly, they are from you."

She sat down the sofa as far away from him as possible, but in one easy movement he slid over to her side right next to her, resting his arm around the back of the sofa behind her shoulders and sitting so close she could see her reflection in his eyes.

 _Don't panic. Don't panic. Just go with it, it's just the person that he is. No respect for peop-_

"But you kept the bird." He said softly in her ear.

She hoped he didn't hear her very nervously clear her throat before she spoke. "Well," she began, just as quietly as he had, "the bird and I are friends now. I named him Timmy. So…" she looked down at her tea as she trailed off.

"Where's the cage? The cage was more expensive then the bird was."

It was true; the gilded ornate cage the bird had arrived in was in the box with the rest the presents. Timmy the bird was now in a larger, more comfortable (but uglier) steel cage.

"I thought it was cruel. It doesn't matter how beautiful the cage was, it was still a cage. And a small one. Why try to disguise it? I let him out mostly now, I only lock him up when I'm gone for a while."

He gave her a strange look, as if he were thinking hard about something. "Hmm."

"Isn't there some kind of rule?" She kept going at his confused gaze. "I mean, aren't what you are…"

"…a homunculus…"

"…right. That. Aren't you supposed to be secret? Wouldn't the alchemist who created you be angry that you are telling me all of this?"

"Maybe. I could care less. He's not my boss anymore and I make my own choices and do what I want. I don't live by any rules."

There was a long silence as they sat for a while and listened to Timmy chirp.

"Listen, Mr... I don't belong in your world. This crazy stuff, it's dangerous and I don't understand it. I appreciate…everything, but please, just leave me alone."

"I'll leave."

"Thank you."

"But first…" Picking up one of her hands, he blew on it for a bit before rubbing it between both of his own. "I noticed when you couldn't keep your hands off me earlier that your hands are freezing."

For a few moments he sat there and rubbed her hands. A little while later, it looked like he might be trying to move lower, so she jumped off the bed and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Greed looked around, no one to talk to now except Timmy the bird. "Guess I'll show myself out then."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Author's Note: I would really like to thank everyone who favorited and followed the last chapter. I promise this chapter would not have been up so fast if it weren't for all of you, especially everybody who reviewed: GrumpyCatWriter101, Anonymous J, and Vorazlov28. You guys are amazing!**

 **Three**

It was a slow, lazy day at The Devil's nest. Greed hated these types of days. There wasn't really anything for him, or for anyone else in his crew for that matter, to do.

When he had worked for Father he had never really slept much on account of all the work he had to do, not to mention the fact that he didn't really need that much sleep. Ever since he had split apart from the other Homunculi, however, he made a little time for it every now and then just out of the sheer novelty of it. When he did rest he preferred to do so during the daytime, because he always was awake at night, but he know it wouldn't be any use trying to sleep now. He had too much on his mind.

Instead, he and some of his crew were laid back playing cards on the table. Looking down at his hand, he took one last drag off his cigarette and then drew three cards from the pile on the table. There were a few of his girls here today, some he recognized and some he didn't. One of the new girls came and poured him a glass of whiskey and he winked at her. When she blushed and smiled back, he decided to take his chances and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Whaddya say, sweetheart? Do you think I should fold?" He asked, nodding towards his hand. She giggled and put her arms around his neck, ignoring his question and opting instead to start kissing his neck.

The others at the table just ignored it. They were used to this by now. One member of the gang, a fox chimera named Grigio, was so focused on the game, hissing at his own losing hand that he appeared to not even notice at all. When another man, not a chimera but just someone who worked for him, laid out his hand, Greed sighed.

"I fold." He said, pushing his chair back from the table. It was a good thing they hadn't been playing with money this game. Greed never gambled with his own money unless he was sure that he would win.

As he and the woman who had been sitting on his lap walked away he put an arm around her shoulders. "Would you like to come downstairs with me?" He asked her.

In way of an answer she blushed and started pulling him towards the stairs. "You've been gone an awful lot lately," she said as she pulled him along, "the other girls and I wonder where you go."

Apparently she wasn't one of the new girls. She was right though, he had been gone a lot lately, more so than ever before. In fact, he made a point to meet Beth at the library and walk her home almost every night. Realizing for the first time how much he had been going there lately, he shrugged. "I've just had business to take care of, that's all." It wasn't like he _had_ to go to Beth's, after all. It was just a habit. He had been bored so much around here lately that going over and talking to her was his biggest source of entertainment. Plus, he was still working on getting into her good graces. The path to seduction could be a painstakingly long process. But thinking back to the girls words, maybe he should make a point to stop meeting Beth so much. Maybe tonight he would stay at the Nest.

…..

That same night Beth came home and nearly had a heart attack when she saw _him_ there, standing in the middle of her living room.

Immediately she bent down to pick up the pieces of the vase she had broken when she jumped at seeing him. "How did you get in here?" She screeched from the floor.

She thought he would turn around to answer her, but he stayed where he was, poking a finger through the bars of Timmy's cage and stroking his yellow wing.

"Have you fed this thing yet?"

"That's none of your concern, and I just asked you a question."

"Oh, please. There isn't a lock on this planet that I couldn't pick." He turned to her then to smile and wink suggestively before going back to stroking the bird that looked oddly contented.

 _Ugh._

"Don't come in here. Ever. At least not when I'm not here. Period."

"So have you fed him yet or what?"

She sighed. "Not yet. I was just about to do that."

"Can I do it?"

"You want to feed my bird?"

He turned to her and grinned. "Sure." Every time he smiled she was taken aback once more at how sharp his teeth were. She brought him the box of crackers that she saved for Tim, snatching her hand away quickly as he stroked her fingers with his own as the box changed hands.

Timmy started flapping his wings and chirping enthusiastically as he reached down to pull a cracker between two of his fingers and slide it gracefully between the bars of the cage.

The chirping stopped as Timmy bobbed for the cracker and tore it happily with his beak.

Beth couldn't help but notice the momentary warmth that spread over her as she watched him feed the bird. Watching him do something so mundane and domestic, even while he stood there over six feet tall and decked out in black leather, was oddly peaceful. _If only he were like this all the time…_

He interrupted her thoughts when he turned to ask another question. "Is that about enough?"

"Oh yeah, um, that's fine." She blushed at the knowing smirk he had on his face after he caught her looking at him. "You can let him out now if you want. I normally do at this time of the night."

He turned and flicked the lock up and stood aside as he pulled the door back. The happy Xingese bird fluttered down out of the cage, not to his usual spot on the counter, but onto his shoulder.

"Look at that! Bird's a good judge of character; I'll give him that." He reached down to stroke his feathers with his thumb.

"Traitor." Beth said, looking at Timmy, who chirped in defense.

"Don't be jealous, babe, there's plenty of me to go around I promise."

Her face flushed with anger, but he put a finger over her mouth before she could protest. "Before you give me a freakin' speech about how much you despise me, I want to ask you where you keep the matches at."

"What do you need my matches for?"

"It's pretty cold in here, and I thought I would start a fire."

"Oh. Thank you. I keep them under the counter." She said with a genuine smile as she watched him strike a flame against the wood after he had retrieved them.

"Thanks. And also, it's nice to know in case I need to burn the place down."

Her smile faded.

"Ah! Much better. And a better lighting, too." He said, pointing what was now a very soft lighting in a room that suddenly seemed very small.

"So…um…what were you here for again?"

He plopped down on the couch, in his signature nonchalant pose. "Why don't you come over here and I'll tell you."

"Why don't _I_ go to bed and _you_ leave my apartment?"

He sighed, made a big show of groaning as he got up, and then came over in about two steps with his long legs to where she was standing.

He ignored her exclamations as he wrapped his arms around her and forced her back down onto the couch next to him.

They were so close together now, his strong arms trapping her against him, that when she noticed her heart beating loudly she knew that he could hear it too. After a moment, she stopped struggling and just glared against the black sheen of his vest.

"So, how was your day?" He asked casually.

She tried to wiggle around a little, but his arms had her locked into position against his chest. After moments of struggling to no avail, she finally sighed and laid her cheek against his well-defined chest. "I hate you. And fine. How was yours?"

"It was ok."

"I would assume for someone who is basically the product of magic your day would be a little more interesting than 'ok'.

"Alchemy isn't exactly magic, doll. Magic doesn't exist."

She stiffened at that. "Magic does exist, actually. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Well you might need to clean your eyes out a little, then. "

She didn't need to look in a mirror to know that her face had turned red with embarrassment. In the course of her life he was the only person that she had ever mentioned her belief in magic to, thinking that he of all people would understand, only to find that he was making fun of her.

Beth thought back to several years ago, when she had been just a child. She remembered a sorcerer standing above her, the horrifying deal she had made with him in exchange for what he gave her, and the great and terrible magic that she had seen him do with her own eyes.

"I was born and raised in Drachma. People there don't scorn magic or those who practice it. People there respect its power."

"So you're from Drachma, huh? I thought your voice sounded a little funny." He looked down at her, clearly happy to know something else about her. In return she just scowled at him.

"Well...uh…what magic have you seen, exactly?"

At first she opened her mouth to answer but then hesitated. Suddenly she was a child again, the young, white haired sorcerer laughing at her. " _Another thing, he had said, "You are not allowed to tell, or even hint, to anyone about this deal that we have just made. If you do, then you will automatically lose. And I will come back for you."_ She shuddered involuntarily at the memory, not only of the ramifications of his words but of the terrible look he had had in his red eyes.

Her thoughts returning to the present, she looked over to see him waiting for her to go on. "I can't talk about it." She finally said.

"Exactly. That's what everyone who claims to have seen magic says." She started to argue, but he put up a finger to stop her, and went on. "Now, I'm not saying you didn't see something extraordinary. I personally believe that nothing is impossible. But what ever you've seen wasn't the product of magic. Magic is the lack of logic, alchemy is the essence of it. Understand?"

She ignored him, not wishing to argue any more, but in her head she thought, _I have seen magic. I've paid a terrible price for it. No one can ever make me forget that._

He relaxed his arms just a little. "Look at me."

Still angry, she refused to meet his eyes, even when he turned her face up to his, opting instead to stare at his nose. "You're a stubborn thing, aren't you?" Laughing at the resolve he saw still in her eyes. But, after a moment, when he said, "Beth" in a voice more quiet than any she had heard him speak in before, she slowly raised her eyes up to his.

He smiled then, or smirked rather, because he rarely ever smiled in a way that wasn't a smirk, and he wrapped his arms around her again to bring her even closer to him, so close that he was practically crushing her now, and kissed her.

Although he was a homunculus, he smelled just like any normal man would, she found to her surprise. And his mouth tasted the same too, except with a slight hint of whiskey that he must have drunk earlier. His personality was far from soft, and that didn't change when he decided to kiss her. There was nothing gentle about the way his mouth was devouring hers, or the one hand that was tangled up in her thick auburn hair that had somehow come loose, or the other hand that had pushed her shirt up a little and was grasping the skin of her waist, or the way that the entire time he held her he crushed her so tightly that she thought their two bodies would merge into one.

He kissed her for a while, and because she was trapped at the moment, and because she had been lonely for several years, and because the kiss was so damn good, she kissed him back.

That made him happy.

He finally gave her a chance to breathe as he bit her neck and moved to take his shirt off.

"Wait, stop." She said, breathless, putting her hand over his.

"Well, I don't normally do this clothed, but if that's what you like then I'm game."

"No, I don't want to…do that. At all."

"Yeah, right. Look at me." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know. I know. " He stopped at that, as she had expected he might, quirking an eyebrow at her agreement.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't like you."

"…Because you love me?"

"No. I don't think you're a good person."

There was a pause for a moment as that sunk in. His eyes were narrowed down at her now, and he seemed a whole lot less happy than he had been a minute ago.

"I see." He said slowly. "I never claimed to be a good person. So what is it that you want?"

"I don't want anything. _You're_ the one who came in here. _You're_ the one who kissed me. I just want you to leave me alone. I want to…be alone. As I've always been."

He took all of that in for a minute, and she shifted nervously, since the awkwardness of the exchange was compounded by the fact that he was still holding onto her very tightly.

Afterwards he never knew why he said it, but as they stared at each other, both of their faces still flushed a little from the kiss, suddenly he found himself saying, "You know, I've never wanted a person this badly before."

"I guess I'll just take that as a complement, then." She said softly.

"You can take anything you want, but if it's not me than I don't really care."

At her movements, he finally let her go.

He stood up, the fire casting his long shadow against the wall. He looked around for a moment, thinking, then made his way to the door where his coat was hanging. "You know," he said flinging the words at her over his shoulder, "I know I'm one of the bad ones, but if you really are waiting for someone who's 'good', you'll be waiting a hell of a long time. I only want one thing from you Beth. Give me that, and I'll leave you alone. I'm not trying to waste your time like every other guy in Dublith would do given the chance."

He slammed the door on his way out. Whether it was on purpose, or out of frustration, Beth couldn't have said.

She let out a long breath as she listened to his footsteps get quieter as he went down the stairs, farther and farther away. Running a hand through her hair in frustration, she sat back and thought what a mess this was. Beth thought back to her childhood in Drachma, to her struggles, and to the deal she had made with the sorcerer, all those years ago. Remembering the sorcerer, she remembered more than ever that there was only one man in Dublith that she would have to let into her life. It couldn't possibly the one who had just left her house, could it?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **A/N: I want to thank everybody who favorited or followed the last chapter. Especially everybody who reviewed the last chapter(Anonymous J, as always, and Panic, and safire08). It may sound cliche guys, but seriously more reviews=faster updates(The more detailed the better!)**

 **Four**

Beth woke up with a start. Gasping for breath, she looked over at the clock on the wall. She was late for rehearsal.

As she ran to the studio in the dark morning light, she couldn't help but play her dream over and over again in her head. It was the same dream, or rather nightmare, that she had every time she unwillingly let herself fall asleep, although it wasn't exactly a dream. It was a memory.

 _Greed._ She thought to herself. _The wizard from Drachma told me to find a man in Dublith named Greed_.

 _ **"Find the man in Dublith named Greed. Then you know what to do."** _ Those had been his exact words.

Beth shook her head to herself. She had already met so many men in Dublith, none of whom had that name.

And then there was _him_. Her nighttime visitor, her library walker.

She didn't know his name yet. She hadn't asked, and he surprisingly hadn't volunteered it.

She had, in fact, been putting off asking him. Because...what if he was Greed? She didn't know what she would do. Remembering the shiny look in his eye and the way he had spoken to her, she had to admit that the name would fit him well…But he was a homunculus. The wizard had told her to find a _man_ in Dublith named Greed. Regardless of how she felt, she couldn't put it off anymore. Next time she saw him, she would ask him what his name was.

When Beth didn't see him for the next few weeks, she felt almost guilty, remembering that she had been a little rude to him last time(understandably so), but the feeling was quickly overcome by the all-encompassing feeling of relief that soon overshadowed it. He was anything but a regular man; there were days when she had seen him everyday for weeks and then days where she never saw him at all.

But this was the longest he had ever been gone. Two whole months since the incident, and she hadn't seen his face sense. It felt as if a weight on her chest had finally been lifted; she could relax and hope that maybe he would leave her alone now. She wasn't as afraid of him anymore, but still. The last thing that she wanted was to get dragged down to his mysterious and dangerous world of crime and alchemy. And now at least she wouldn't have to find out what his name really was.

…

When she got home that night, there were dozens of roses waiting outside her door.

She told herself not to be irrational, they could be from any one of her dozens of fans who came to her performances. But those hopes were shattered when she came out of the library the next evening and Greed was there waiting for her.

"Did you get the flowers?"

She stepped around him carefully, but he matched her stride.

"Yes, I did. They were beautiful. But I don't understand why you sent them."

"Someone told me that you should send flowers when you've offended a woman."

"I seriously can't believe this is the first time you've offended a woman."

He ignored her. "So you liked them then?"

"Sure. But you know, if you've offended someone, you could always just say 'sorry' instead, and save yourself some time and money."

"I'll remember that. Now, can I take you out for some tea or coffee or something? I've noticed you like to have tea after you come home from the library. "

"No thank you."

"Alright. We can have some at your place then, I guess."

"On second thought, coffee out would be nice." She said quickly.

He laughed and threw an arm around her, leading her down a different street.

….

She could never get used to the casual way that he touched her. It was often and constant. Being raised an orphan herself, she had never been used to physical affection. She now found it was both unnerving and comforting.

He chose a place in North Dublith, a late night café that had tables and chairs outside where customers could sit outside and gaze out at the glow cast by street lamps and the lights wrapped around the fountains.

When the waiter brought the menus and she looked at the prices, she started to protest.

"I can't afford any of this."

"As if I would let a woman pay." He said, and then asked the waiter to bring them three of the nicest cups on the menu each.

"To be honest…" she said hesitantly, "I would figure you would be a little stingy with your money." Beth held her breath now as she waited now for him to laugh and say something like, "well my name is Greed but that doesn't mean I don't spend money now and then," thus confirming her suspicions, but he said no such thing.

"Why?" He said smiling.

"You seem like someone who loves money?" _Hint hint_. She hoped he would take the bait.

"You're right and wrong. It's not the money that I love so much. It's the things that I can buy with it. I love to have a lot of money so I spend money on things that I enjoy buying. Like right now. Treating a beautiful woman to coffee is a pleasure." He said, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his own.

She had waited and waited for him to say something, but now she had no other option. It was time to ask him once and for all.

"Can I um…ask you something?"

"Yep."

She took in a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. "What's your name?"

He laughed. "I didn't even realize I hadn't told you yet. Strange."

Across the table, she was looking at him expectantly, her hands balled tightly into fists. He appraised her for a moment, thinking. "Gifre." He finally said. As a rule, he only told the girls and guys of the Devil's Nest his real name. It was safer that way. And it wasn't exactly a lie, because someone else had called him that years ago to begin with, so it was sort of a nickname.

Beth let out her breath. _Thank God_. She thought. _Thank God._

She thought about pulling away now, noticing that his hand still held hers across the table, but he was buying her coffee after all. And as much as she hated to admit it, it was nice to talk to him again. Between her busy schedule, and the regulations that her managers Errol and Adaline imposed on her, the only people she ever spoke to were her fellow dancers, her managers, and the librarian. All of which were cordial and business related. She realized for the first time the nights that Greed came to see her were the closest thing she had had to friendship since she was a child. So she let his hand rest on hers.

"Watcha thinkin' bout?" He said, rubbing his thumb gently over the top of her hand.

"I'm thinking about how lonely I've been."

There was a long pause while he stared at her and she stared at the table, mortified that she had actually said that out loud.

After the waiter came and set down the coffee in front of them, he picked up a cup, not using the handle but grasping the mug with his entire hand even though the cup was scalding hot, took a swig and said, "No chick as gorgeous as you are could be lonely."

"Well I am."

"And why's that?"

"I don't get out much…or see many people."

"Well you're seeing me right now."

"I know." She took a sip of coffee, the pleasant aroa and warmth giving her courage. "Gifre?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"What are we, exactly? I mean…do you think that we could be...friends?"

"Nope."

She yanked her hand back instinctively. "What?"

"I don't want to be friends with you. I don't have friends."

She glared at him over the table, which he kindly ignored.

"Well don't let the coffee get cold."

Sighing, she took a sip of a different flavor. "Now I won't be able to sleep at all tonight." She said, thinking of the caffein she was intaking.

He grinned. "You don't say? Want me to stay over tonight and keep you company?"

She didn't answer. Instead she looked sadly into her cup.

He cleared his throat. "So…uh…how've you been?"

"Okay. Fine. Busy with the dancing."

"When is your next…uh…performance?"

She looked up at him. "Why?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing you dance again. That's what first drew me to you, ya know."

"Hey, I always meant to ask, how come you didn't come to my very last performance?"

"Huh?"

"You came to all the performances except the very last one. Why?"

"Oh, yeah. I don't like endings. It's a little quirk of mine."

"Why don't you like endings?"

"I don't know. They're sad, I guess. I don't like sad things. I'm here to have a good time. Know what I mean?"

"Not really. I think that endings are necessary sometimes. They can be beautiful too."

"I don't think there is anything on the planet as beautiful as you." He winked at her.

"Gifre, if you don't want to be friends, what do you want?"

His voice, which never lost its humorous quality, became slightly huskier. Under the table, he covered her foot with his boot.

"You know."

"I don't want that from you. Or with you. Not ever."

He groaned, rolling his head back. "You gotta lot of nerve."

"How is that?!"

"I'm an all-powerful, practically impenetrable being, who has lived for a very long time. And you're well…" He waved his hand over her.

"What?"

"Like you said. Lonely. An orphan. You obviously need some attention, and here I am willing to give it you."

"I have nerve?! _You_ have nerve. For someone who claims to be a gentleman, you can be a real asshole sometimes."

With that she grabbed her coat off the chair and stormed off.

….

Beth found it unsettling: the direct correlation her quality of dancing had with whether or not she was speaking to Gifre at the moment.

Errol and Adaline noticed how lately she would dance very well for some weeks and then there would be weeks where she did horribly, but the reason as to why the two of them could only guess.

Why she danced better the days after she had spoken to Gifre, Beth herself could only guess. Her thoughts kept returning to the other night, when they had been drinking coffee together and she had suddenly realized, for the first time since she was a child, that she was lonely.

The solitariness of her existence had become a weight crushing down on her that she hadn't even known was there, but after she had started talking to Gifre the weight had seemed to lift, making her lighter on her feet when she danced.

Rehearsal had gone badly today. The other dancers shied away from her in the dressing room and hadn't even said goodbye to her as she put her coat on and left the studio.

Beth couldn't help but notice that the weight when it came back it pressed down twice as hard.

The horrible, crushing, all consuming, weight of loneliness.

Maybe she should get another bird.

Beth knew that after a while the lonely feeling would eventually dissipate. It had before, right?

But still. She seriously started to consider buying another bird for more company. She found herself pacing back and forth in front of the pet store. She'd go up and grab the door handle, and then shake her head and walk towards home, then scurry back and repeat the process.

It was just after sunset, and the sky cast a red light over everything. _Maybe I should get a dog. I hear dogs are good company,_ she was just thinking, considering really going in this time.

"So all that time you spend reading in the library and you can't figure out how ta open a door?"

Although she couldn't help the instant relief that she felt when she saw him. his normal cocky grin, which always seemed worse when he was wearing his glasses like he was now, made her remember how mad she was.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Ouch. You aren't even going to tell me that you missed me or give me a kiss?"

"I wouldn't do either of those things even if I wasn't mad at you right now."

His hands, which had both been in his pockets, now came up and scratched his head in confusion.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Her mouth fell open as she gaped at him. _Was he serious right now?_ "Last time we met? At coffee?"

He just stared at her over his glasses.

"You were being completely stupid?"

"Doesn't ring any bells."

"But I thought that's why you were staying away! Because you knew I was mad at you and so you knew to stay away."

"Ha ha! That's funny! Nah, I had some business to take care of. That's why I was gone all that time."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

She turned and started walking towards home. "Well that's just great." She mumbled to herself.

A few strides and he was already walking in sync with her. Damn his long legs.

"So would you like to come see where I live tonight?"

She paused in the middle of unlocking her front door, sure that if she had been drinking something at the moment she would have spit it back out.

"To the Devil's Nest?"

"Yep."

"No thanks."

"How come? It'll be more interesting then staying here tonight, reading or sleeping or whatever it is that you do."

"I doubt that actually, and no thanks. The place where you come from is the last place on this Earth that I would want to be. And it sounds like the name of a brothel anyway."

"Close. It's just a bar, but there are lots of women there."

"That makes it sound so much better."

"You're sassy tonight. I like that."

He winked and then picked her up, his arms around her waist twirling her around the room.

She couldn't hold back a shriek."Ak! Put me down, Gifre! GIFRE!"

He spun them around faster until she finally started shrieking from laughter. Like glowing embers that had just caught fire, the action stirred a long dormant memory into focus. A foggy picture came to her from her childhood, of someone, maybe her father before he had died, twirling her around in the same happy way.

Her face was red and she was soon breathless from laughter.

"I knew a ballerina couldn't possibly dislike being twirled around. "

"You're right." She laughed, still smiling a little.

"Now that's something I've never seen before." He said, pushing a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ears.

"What?"

"Your smile."

She flushed, and he bent down to kiss her, his hand resting against her face.

She knew better this time than to let the kiss last like it had before.

She pushed against his chest. "No."

There was disappointment and irritation in his eyes, which she turned her head away from so she didn't have to see.

"How long?" He said.

"How long what?"

"How long before you stop trying to deny that you're attracted to me?"

"I'm not denying it." As she said it for the first time she realized that it was true. He wasn't the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His eyes were too small and his nose a little too long, and there was the matter of his vampire teeth. But he was very extremely tall, and he had dark hair and muscular arms. Arms that she couldn't forget the way they had felt when she was enveloped in them. Most of all, however, there was just something about him. His confidence, his charisma, that made him alluring.

"Then what the hell is the problem?! Is it me then? You don't like me?"

"No it's not even that anymore, although I thought it was. Of course we are completely different and we have nothing in common, but you're not completely repulsive to me. I mean, I'm not really crazy about you either…It's just what I said. I don't want this." She pointed back and forth between the two of them. "I don't want to be your girl, or anyone else's. I don't want to have sex with you, or anyone else. I'm just better off alone." _Not to mention once she found the man called Greed she wouldn't have time for any other man._

"No one is better off alone!" He said suddenly, and then shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he himself had just said. "It doesn't matter if we don't have anything in common, I'm not interested in that."

"I'm not interested in that either. But I'm certainly not interested in _that_."

"Listen to me kid, I can see that you're young and inexperienced, but I can sure promise you one thing: I'll show you a good time. Of that you can be sure. You can ask any of the ladies at the Nest: I know my way around a woman's body."

She blushed as she began pushing him with both arms towards the door. "I'm sure you do. But I don't need you to show me a good time. I need you to show yourself to the door, please."

He held up his hands in mock surrender, as he let himself be pushed. "Fine, fine! But you're missing out. We could be showing each other a hell of a time right about now…"

She pushed him the rest of the way out the apartment, and as she closed the door on him she heard him say, "You know where to find me if you change your mind!"

 **Author's Note: Apparently the name "Gifre" is an old English name that means "greedy man." *giggles at my own joke***


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Author's Note: So I find it kind of awful that last chapter I mentioned that reviews make me write faster, and wrote some awesome reviews, and then five thousand years later this chapter came out. I'm super sorry about that. I've been super busy but I wasn't lying when I said that reviews do make me write faster. And I really appreciate all of your guy's support! Also I just want to let everybody know that there is an important author's note at the bottom of this chapter!**

 **Safire08: I'm glad you like their conversations! Trying to keep Greed in character is the hardest job and you have no idea how happy it makes me that you think Greed would really act like this!**

 **Vorazlov28: As far as Beth's deal goes, that story will reveal itself pretty soon I upcoming chapters. I'm super nervous about how people are going to feel about it TBH. But I'm happy you think the mystique is entertaining so far! I'll try not to let you down. And in regard to hanging out with Dolcetto, maybe in the future…**

 **Anonymous J: Thank you as always for all of your support! More backstory is soon to come, and I'm thrilled you thought the last chapter was great. And don't worry there's always more sexy Greed to come!**

 **Guest: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked my joke…**

 **Five**

When her managers were acting strange again the next day at practice, Beth decided she would speak to them.

It was 9:00 in the evening when they had all finished practicing. She grabbed her bag and was making her way to their office, when Adaline surprised her by meeting her in the hallway.

It always took Beth a minute to decide which manager she was speaking to. Both Errol and Adaline had the same dark eyes and hair, but they both wore them around the same lengths and so it was hard for Beth to tell who was who, even though one of them was a man and the other was a woman. She usually had to wait until they spoke. Adaline had a deep voice but Errol's was surprisingly high pitched.

"Could we see you in our office for a minute, Beth?"

"Sure, Adaline. I was just coming to talk to you all."

When they stepped into the office, Errol was sitting on the table, arms crossed and staring at the wall. Adaline took the chair behind the desk.

Neither of them offered her a seat.

"I guess we'll just get straight to the point, Beth. Have you forgotten that you are under contract?"

"Of course not. How could I have forgotten that?" As if she could forget that these two people controlled her entire life.

"And you remember the rules?"

"I come to practice everyday, I go to performances every night that we have one. I don't leave the city without your permission, I don't dye my hair without your permission, I don't make any big decisions without your permission. I basically don't do anything without your permission."

For the first time Errol spoke. "And you don't see any men without our permission."

Beth hesitated. She didn't like where this was going. "I know this. And I haven't."

"You know why that is, don't you? Until you become too old to dance, you don't need that kind of distraction. If you start dating a man, then you'll want a family soon, and-"

Beth couldn't listen to this anymore. "Alright, alright! I understand, but I haven't been seeing anyone I promise."

"We all saw you dancing with that man at the Gala a few months ago. You two were dancing awfully close and you looked like you knew one another."

"Well we didn't." _At least not at the time._

"He came and spoke to us, Beth."

Beth froze. "What? When?!"

"A few days ago." Adaline said, playing with her nails.

"What did he want?!"

"You seem awfully eager to know."

"Don't play games with me. Just tell me. I deserve that much."

Adaline looked over at Errol, but her younger twin was actually blushing, and couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"Well, what is it?"

Adaline crossed her fingers, and leaned forward over the desk, watching Beth carefully.

"He asked if we were the one's who had you under contract, and how much it would cost to buy you out of your contract."

Beth's head shot up. "What? Is that true?" She looked over at Errol, who finally met her eyes. He nodded.

She couldn't believe it. _Had Gifre really asked her managers to free her from her contract? Of course it was probably for selfish reasons, but still…She hadn't even thought he was listening when she had talked about how she didn't have any freedom because of her contract._

Her next words came out breathy. "What did you tell him?"

"We said no, of course."

Of course. Always "of course". She should have known by this point to never get her hopes up. Beth didn't even realize her head was down until Adaline spoke again. She looked back up at the woman.

"What did you say?"

"I said, when we told him no, he asked us how much it would cost just to spend a night with you."

There was an uncomfortable silence that seemed to last a lifetime. Or, it was for her managers at least. As far as Beth herself was concerned, she couldn't barely see straight she was so angry. She knew her face was red now and not just from embarrassment. That settled it. She would kill Gifre if she ever saw him again. He had asked to pay money to spend the night with her. Like she was a prostitute. A whore.

Errol went on, but now she was the one who couldn't make eye contact.

"We naturally told him that was out of the question. We aren't pimps, and you're not a prostitute. You're a dancer who doesn't need any distractions. We reminded him that if we found out about you seeing him you would be punished."

"I see."

"Tell us Beth, are you seeing that…man?"

"No. He's spoken to me some, but I can't help that. He's very persistent."

"I see. Beth, I can understand how you could be tempted. He seems to be a very persistent and charismatic individual, and you're still a young, impressionable girl after all. But there's something strange about him. He doesn't seem quite right."

Beth didn't say anything. She had the same feeling about Gifre, but she didn't like to hear other people talking about him. It felt somehow meaner coming from them. All she wanted now was for them to stop talking.

"I haven't seen him. I don't plan on doing so." I plan on being on my own, just as I've always done.

Adaline sighed. "Alright. You can go now, Beth. Just remember what we said. It's for the best really. We have a deal after all. You devote all your time to dancing for this company and in return we pay your expenses. And I'm sure we don't even have to mention the kindness our mother did for you, what with taking you out of that orphanage in Drachma when you were a child."

"Of course. How could I ever forget?" Beth said through gritted teeth, and then closed the door a little too hard, its slam echoing throughout the hall as she left.

….

As if she would get involved with someone like him.

No matter how much his company assuaged her own loneliness, she could never let herself develop any kind of attachment. She wouldn't forget and let herself develop feelings for him.

She was already spoken for, in a manner of speaking.

When she was a young girl, she had made a deal with someone.

That deal, that bargain, had been her only option at the time. The only way for her to change her life and find a way out of the terrible situation that she was in.

And the price? The price hadn't seemed bad at all at the time that she had made the deal. As Beth grew older, she realized that it probably wouldn't be as easy as she had thought it might be, but it was still manageable. And even though she was older now, she probably still had years ahead of her before it was time to pay.

It was late now. Too late to go to the library.

Walking back to her apartment, she randomly found herself taking some of the short cuts through the city that Gifre had showed her. Back alleys twisted and turned, and she saw parts of Dublith that she hadn't even known were there. _It's like there are actually two cities._ She thought. _One that's safe and pleasant. The daylight city. And a completely different, darker side._

She was thinking about this when someone called out to her.

Her head shot up, thinking that it was Gifre. But although the person calling her was very tall, she had never met him before in her life.

And he was blocking her way, so she had no choice but to say, "Can I help you?"

Checking to make sure that no one was around, he pulled a pistol out of his belt. "Yep. You can give me your purse, lady, and any jewelry you have."

She surprisingly found herself very calm, more annoyed than scared. In fact, she was very annoyed. "How about you get out of my way, and put that thing away before you hurt someone?" She snarled back at the man. She wasn't afraid of this thug.

He cocked the trigger. "Not until you give me your money."

"I would rather die than give my money to a low-life like you."

"Well, allow me to grant your wish."

The gun flew out of his hand as her foot connected with his palm. "Ow! Dammit! Geez lady-" He pulled his hand to his chest in pain, but then she kicked him in the head as hard as she could.

The man doubled over, blood gushing out of his temple. After a few seconds he lost consciousness and hit the ground with a thud.

Beth looked around for the gun, just in case, but someone came up and grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her and putting a cold blade against her throat.

"Now that was just cheap." She muttered under her breath.

"Shut up. We just wanted your money, but after watching what you did to my partner here, I'm thinking that maybe we should kill you first and then take your money."

"Well, I think you should take your hands off of the young lady." A different voice behind them said.

She felt the man holding her get pulled off of her. Beth knew before she turned from his voice that it was Gifre who pulled the man off her, and she saw him now, a grin on his face as he held the man up by his shirt.

Gifre looked over at her, still holding the man up. "What are you doing Beth, running around with this crowd?"

Her face flushed with anger. "I wasn't running around with them. I should have known better than to take shortcuts that you showed me."

She grimaced when he put an arm around her shoulders. "I meant for you to let _me_ take you through the shortcuts." He said, laughing.

"So it was a no-win situation."

"You're being awfully rude to someone who just saved your life."

"Thanks. Are you going to do anything about that?" She nodded to the burglar that he was still holding up with his other arm.

"Oh, right." He set the man down on his knees and with a quick crack! snapped his neck.

Beth gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, hardly believing what she had just seen.

"You…you just killed him."

"Yeah I did. Now I guess I gotta do the other one." He made a movement towards the other thief, who was still lying on the ground unconscious from her kick.

"No, wait!" He turned to look at her when she grabbed his bicep. "We should probably leave. Someone might see us."

"Mmm…" He made a dissatisfied sound, gritting his teeth and looking at the man. "I don't know. I don't really like to leave witnesses alive."

She wrapped her other hand around his bicep as well and tried to tug him away. "Come on, Gifre, we have to leave. Please."

He looked at her for a minute and then at her hands around his arm and finally said, "Ok. Let's go."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her away, leading her through some back streets.

As he led her around, struggling to keep up with the pace he was setting with his long legs, the man's death was replaying over and over in her head. She had seen a lot of people killed over the course of her childhood. She had lived and seen things much worse in the rough places and situations in which she had lived, but she had never seen someone killed so coldly. So without passion or any semblance of feeling. Who was this person who she had befriended, really?

She wanted to ask him, but they were moving too quickly. When they finally stopped in front of her door she had to take a breather, and then when she was finally able to speak, she found she couldn't ask after all.

"Why don't you open the door?" Gifre said. "I could go for a glass of something strong."

She let him in and made them each a glass of wine.

He sniffed it with a suspicious look on his face. "What is this?"

"Wine." She said, taking a sip herself.

He threw his head back and downed the glass in a few seconds, while she watched over her own glass with wide eyes.

"That was refreshing." He said, "but I'm ready now for something a little stronger than alcoholic grape juice."

"I don't have anything stronger."

He raised his eyebrows, and waited, looking at her expectantly.

"Fine." She reached under her bottom cabinet and pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the back.

She handed it to him, who thanked her enthusiastically. "Pour yourself a glass," she said, "I'm going to go hang up my coat."

She went to her room and flicked the light on. She looked around at the furniture for a minute. It was all so nice, very expensive and ornate. None of it was really hers; the apartment had been completely furnished when she had moved to Dublith two years ago. She still remembered the moment when she had first looked around, scarcely believing that all of this was hers now. She had jumped on the bed and laughed. Now she walked past the bed and went to her closet, moving aside fancy ball gowns and outfits to hang up her coat. She sighed. Once a nice, safe place to live had been all she had ever wanted, and the nice things had just been a bonus. These days she found herself yearning for something more.

"Here."

She jumped, turning around to see him holding out a glass for her.

"Oh, thanks." She was still shaking a little from what had happened. She took a small sip, the whiskey warming her body and calming her down a bit.

"What is it?" Beth said a little sharply when she caught him looking at her.

He laughed. "I'm just remembering you kicking that guy in the face and knocking him flat on his ass."

"I'm glad you thought it was funny."

"I like strong, feisty women." He said, lowering his voice and stepping a little closer.

"I'm glad."

He stroked the collar of her dress with a finger, making her heart race. He went on, "I also liked how selfish you were back then. Willing to fight rather than give him your things."

Her face flushed. "I wasn't being selfish!" She turned her face away, finding it easier to think when she wasn't looking at him. "It wasn't about the stuff. It was about not letting some vagabond take what's mine."

He moved his hand to her chin. "That's my girl."

She shoved his hand away, his hand dropping to his side. "I'm not your girl, or anyone else's. And you have to leave now."

Looking at her the whole time, he took a long swig from his glass, downing it all. "I did save your life after all. You could show a little more gratitude."

She didn't say anything, not even while he came closer and closer until he pressed his mouth against hers. He kissed her quickly, and roughly; she could still taste the whiskey on his tongue and felt his warm breath as he exhaled. When he stopped she stepped back and slapped him across the face.

"I don't owe you anything. Certainly not that."

"I saved your life. Most people would say you owe me something."

She paused for a moment, and suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. The discussion she had had with her managers that morning.

"You! You went to my managers!"

His face was blank until recognition sparked in his eyes. "Oh, yeah. I guess I did. Not very reasonable people, are they? Like talking to a brick wall I swear…"

"You asked them what my price was! Like I was a prostitute! Or…I don't know…property or something. How could you?" She said, her voice breaking a little on the last word. Despite her best efforts, she had come to really like him, and thus far she had never felt more betrayed in her life.

"Well, it makes perfect sense, really. They had something that I wanted and so I-"

She interrupted him. "No! I can't hear anymore!" She said, putting her hands over her ears. "You're some kind of monster, and I can't look at you. Leave now."

He crossed his arms, a sour expression on his face. She forgot he didn't like to be called names.

"Fine! I don't care. If you won't leave then I will. " She made a move towards the door, but he pulled her back, his hands on her shoulders as he stood her in front of him.

"Hey, hey, just be cool for a second, ok? Now listen. Yes I went to your managers, and yes I asked them how much money it would cost to…well you know." He winked at her, but went on when she just scowled at him. "Anyways, when they said that wouldn't work I asked how much to free you from your contract. And what's so wrong about that? They practically own you, you said. I just wanted to free you. I wasn't even going to force you. I like for my girls to be happy, and come to me of their own accord. It's no fun if the girl isn't willing."

"You think that I would…be with you…because you tried to free me or because you saved my life?"

"Why not? That's all relationships are, after all. Transactions of some kind or other. Men take you to dinner and tell you that you're beautiful. That they love you. In return you women marry them and sleep with them. Give your lives to them. And vice versa. Say you meet a man and agree to be faithful to him, to take care of him and his house and his children. In return he takes care of you and gives you shelter and kindness. That's all 'love' is. Just a series of transactions. And it's the same with friendship. I don't believe the actual feelings of love or friendship exist by themselves without the rest."

Throughout his speech, he had been staring down. Now he looked back up at her face.

"But I've given you more than any of those superficial words." He took a step closer to her. "I tried to free you, and I protected your life, the most important thing you have." He took another step, until her whole head was turned up, looking at his face right above hers. "How much is your life worth to you?" He said, his hand wrapping around the back of her head, trapping her when he went down to kiss her again.

She knew she could debate the rights and wrongs of everything that he had said all night if she wanted to, but she didn't care anymore. She had wanted this for a long time, she knew; she had just been afraid of letting it happen.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. As her smaller body arched into his bigger one that was curving down to meet hers, she shuddered at the contact. His body was hard from all of his well-defined muscles. Even his teeth were too sharp to be comfortable, poking into her lips when he would suck on one or poking into her skin when he would gently bite one. But she felt comfortable all the same.

They kissed until she ran out of breath and gently pushed him away. She held his eyes with her own as she slowly unbuttoned her dress that went all the way down to the bottom, her hands shaking as she did so.

He smiled, pulling her back against him for another kiss, the feel of his chest against her bare one making her shiver. He slid the rest of her dress off her shoulders, covering her with himself as he pushed them both to the bed behind her, covering her up.

 **Author's Note: So…as you all can see…there will be some sex in this story. Here's the thing: I kinda feel like this story is heading in an M direction. This first scene was T-rated fade-to-black, but I don't want to keep them all that way for the sake of the story. But that being said, I realize I rated this story T to begin with, and I don't really think it's fair to change the rating on people who don't read M stories. If anyone has an opinion on this matter just tell me in a review; whether you want it to go M or you want it to stay T, and I'll look at them and try to make a decision. Thanks guys.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Author's Note: So sorry about the long time between updates guys! Life. It gets in the way, man. Anyways this story would not have been up this quickly without all of your fantastic reviews! So the consensus seemed to be to make the story M, which I'm glad about, since it looks like I won't be messing things up for anybody for doing so. The M stuff is necessary to the story, but I want to go ahead and apologize for it since I'm not very good at writing it. (I literally blush the whole time and it's not even that steamy). Hopefully I will get better! I especially want to thank thegirlwhocriedink whose review a couple of days ago reminded me that I sorely needed to update this story. You can all thank her! This chapter isn't super long, but I promise, there are good things to come!**

 **Safire08: Thank you so much!I hope you are as excited for this chapter update too!**

 **Panic: You literally have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that! I worry so much sometimes that I'm not capturing him correctly, but I'm glad some people think I am! I really appreciate your support!**

 **Anonymous J: True story, man. School saps the energy right out of you. And thank you for that** **J** **. As always, your reviews are so nice.**

 **ThePunGuest: That is one of the nicest complements I've received! Like I said in a response above, trying to get his character right is the most difficult part for me. I work really hard on it and I'm over the moon that you think I am doing a good job! Thank you so much!**

 **GoreandGumdrops: Thanks! Happy reading!**

 **Thegirlwhocriedink: Thank you so so much! Once again, thank you so much for saying that his characterization is good. That's the best complement I could ever get. It's so difficult for me to do I still worry if I'm doing it right. And Beth is no Mary-Sue for sure haha. Sometimes I wonder if I make her too annoying. Thanks also for the reminder review to update! I try to get these out as fast as I can but sometimes they need to be reminded.**

 **CatLady101: Thank ya!**

 **Spiderfiction: Thank you so much! Enjoy the update!**

 **Six**

 _Beth and fifteen of the other orphaned girls stood in a row as the lady inspected each one of them._

 _The man in charge of the orphanage had told them all when he called them together to stand that if they were very good, one of them might be taken by "the lady" and get to leave and go live with her. Naturally all the little girls, Beth included, scrubbed their faces and washed their hair until they looked as nice as possible. None of them had had any other dresses to change into other than the dirty one that each of them possessed, but they all prayed it wouldn't matter._

 _The lady looked at each one of them carefully, the two twin children that she had brought with her trailing silently behind her._

 _She looked at all the children but she did not care for what she saw._

 _Until she came to Beth and Katey._

 _Katey was a precious girl with dark skin and white hair. Ishvalan; a rarity in Drachma. The gap between her teeth made her look positively adorable when she smiled, and against her dark skin and hair her red eyes stood out like stars. Easily the most beautiful girl at the orphanage, the lady smiled when she saw Katey; until she saw Katey's foot._

 _Injured as a baby, Katey's left foot was twisted the wrong way, making it very difficult for her to even walk._

 _"_ _What a shame." The lady said, sighing. Katey was forgotten._

 _Then she came to Beth._

 _As the lady opened Beth's mouth to look at her perfect teeth, and she ran her hand over the flawless skin of Beth's pale white cheek, the lady started to look pleased again. She went on to unbraid Beth's auburn hair and look and check to make sure she had no injuries._

 _Finally satisfied, she turned to the man in charge of the orphans._

 _"_ _This one has potential. She's beautiful, young enough, and she appears to be very healthy."_

 _"_ _Absolutely madame. A wonderful girl. Truly. You won't regret taking her."_

 _"_ _There's only one thing left; we must make sure she can dance. Let's see you repeat after me, girl." The woman twirled around a bit and did a few fancy things with her legs._

 _They all discovered quickly, Beth could not dance._

 _Besides from failing to competently follow the lady's dance moves, Beth somehow got her feet tangled together and wound up on the floor._

 _The lady scowled at the man in charge."Well I have no use for her if she cannot dance. I am looking for young girls that have grace and skill. I am training the next big performers, and this girl has two left feet. "_

 _Beth could almost hear the man who ran the orphanage curse. He was always eager to get rid of another mouth to feed._

 _The lady turned to leave, and for the first time since she had arrived, Beth spoke._

 _"_ _You must take me! I can dance. I can work harder than anyone to be a good dancer for you."_

 _Ignoring the angry glance of the man and the frightened looks of the other children, the lady turned back around and smirked down to where Beth's squeaky voice had come from._

 _"_ _The kind of talent that I am looking for," she said, "is not the kind that can be learned. It is the kind one is either born with, or not."_

 _The lady laughed and made her way towards the door, the two twins she had come with following behind her._

 _"_ _I will be in town for a few more days," she said over her shoulder to Beth, "if you somehow magically acquire the gift of dance, come and find me."_

….

Beth woke up from the dream with a jolt. She rarely, if ever, slept. Ever since she was a child she had found it hard to fall asleep, and later on she had found that the nightmares gave her no wish to do so.

Rubbing her face, she glanced out the window. It had been a while, she thought, since she had had one of these dreams about her childhood.

She glanced over to the side of the bed, where _he_ was sleeping.

Beth had thought he would have left right afterwards. Somehow she had thought that perhaps a homunculus did not tire or sleep. But to her surprise after _it_ had happened, he threw a heavy arm over her casually and went straight to sleep. She lay awake for hours afterwards, thinking about what had happened. She wanted to move his arm off of her, but she was too afraid it would wake him up. It wasn't un-normal for her to lay awake at night; she had difficulty sleeping. _I suppose I'm a woman now_ , she thought to herself. It hadn't been as bad as she had thought it would be, although it was far from pleasant. It had been her first time and he was not exactly a gentle man. Although, halfway through, when he had seen the blood, he had gone a little slower then, and she could have sworn when he buried his head into her neck, and licked some of the sweat that was making her auburn hair stick to her skin, that he had kissed her softly as if apologizing that he had not known until that moment that she had never had another man before.

Around four or five o'clock in the morning, she couldn't wait any longer and had to go use the bathroom. She lifted his arm off of her waist and he thankfully didn't wake. Even when she flushed the toilet and washed her hands he didn't stir. He appeared to be a heavy sleeper. She slid back into the bed but when the bed shifted, his eyes opened and he blinked a few times before he smiled and pulled her back into his arms. He kissed her a few times on the ear and stroked her hair before reaching to pull up the nightgown she had put on when she had got up. She started to sigh, but then, not wanting to hurt his feelings in case he was competent this early in the morning, disguised it with a yawn. She helped situate herself better when he rolled over her. _Might as well at this point_ , she thought.

It was hardly better the second time, but at least it was quicker. He went back to sleep afterwards but this time he wrapped both of his strong arms around her. Tightly.

Beth dozed off for a few minutes this time but all too soon she had to wake up. She had to be at the dance hall before seven, so she took a quick shower and headed out. He never woke the whole time, and she started to go over and wake him but somehow she just couldn't. She knew it was cliché, but he just looked so peaceful when he slept. Not sweet, exactly, but calm. Happy. She surprised herself by leaving him a note on her pillow saying that she had to leave for practice and that she had food in the kitchen if he was hungry. She also asked him to please feed the bird. She was running late and didn't have the time.

The entire day she found herself thinking how weird it was that what had happened last night had happened, and yet the day seemed normal as usual. She knew it was silly, but she had somehow expected for everything to seem different or strange. But it wasn't. She did wonder, as her partner lifted her into the air and she practiced a twirl, if she would ever see Gifre again.

….

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised to see him sitting on her couch when she came home one day a week later.

"You can't just let yourself in like this." She said, throwing her keys on the table.

"Nice to see you, too."

He was stretched out in his normal position; arms sprawled across the top of the couch and legs in front. Beth noticed with dismay that his feet were on her coffee table with his boots still on and that he had once again helped himself to her food and liquor.

She dropped her bag on the table also and took her coat off.

"I mean it. This is my apartment, and I don't know how you let yourself in, but you can't do that again."

"What was that?" He said.

"I said you can't come in here on your own."

He stuck his pinkie in his ear, and twisted it a few times like he was trying to hear her better. "I'm sorry, once more?"

Abandoning the apple she had considered eating, she dropped it on the counter and made her way over to him.

Bending down, she put her mouth right next to his ear. "STOP BEING A JERK." She shouted so loud that it woke Tim up, who started chirping annoyed.

"Well," he said smiling, "now you've upset Timmy." He reached with one of his tattooed hands to push the hair back from her face to behind her ear. "I really did miss you, kid."

"Thanks." She said. Their faces were so close when she spoke that she saw how he closed his eyes in pleasure when her warm breath drifted over his face.

"Will you forgive me for breaking and entering?" He said, his hands moving up and down her sides now.

"Yes." She said, suddenly out of breath as he reached under her dress and put a hand on her thigh. "I forgive you. Just this once."

He smiled. "Good."

With both of his hands he grabbed her by the dress pulled her on top of him where he was sitting.

Although he seemed like the type to rip clothes off in a moment of passion, he didn't damage her underwear ,although he did pull it down very hastily, leaving her still in her dress but with nothing on underneath.

She shuddered as he put his hands on her hips underneath her dress, sending goose bumps across her bare skin. As he rolled his thumbs over her hipbones shoe couldn't help but close her eyes. His hands were warm where he touched her. Every part of her was hot now as he lifted her hips up and pulled her down on top of him.

There was a brief pause as he undid his pants and then they both gasped as he filled her; he from pleasure and she from a mixture of the incredible sensation of how good it felt and how much it hurt.

She tried to get situated to the way it felt; so large it felt like she was filled up to her belly with nothing but him, but all too soon he pulled her up a little and then brought her back down. As he started moving her rhythmically she found herself gasping so loudly it was embarrassing and making a little sound every time he hit her a little too deep. He made a sound at those moments too, but it was completely different from hers. As he started moving her faster she felt his fingers digging into her thighs so hard that she knew she would have bruises later; all too soon his eyes closed and he gritted his teeth until with a final shudder she felt him release inside her.

They sat panting together for a few minutes after that.

Finally he wiped some sweat off of his head with the back of his hand and smiled. "Why don't you go get your shoes, kid? I'll take you out somewhere to eat."

"I'm not a prostitute." She hissed, causing him to jerk his head back in surprise.

"What the hell? I didn't say that you were. Not that there's anything wrong if you were…God you're touchy."

Taking the opportunity when she saw one, she reached back and slapped him.

He surprised her this time when he sat back and just took it.

"Look, I just thought you might be tired after dancing all day and want to go out somewhere with me instead of having to cook for yourself like you always do." He said, holding his hands up like he was innocent.

"Oh that's it, huh?"

"Yeah that's it, you ungrateful bitch."

They stared at each other scowling for a minute, until it suddenly occurred to her how awkward of a position this was to be having an argument in.

He noticed the same thing she did, suddenly, and laughing he pulled her off of him onto the couch beside him and started to buckle his pants back up.

Blushing, she found her underwear on the floor and put that back on under her skirt. While she composed herself he took a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket. "Do you mind?" He asked, lighting one up with a golden lighter he pulled out of his vest pocket.

"Yes." Beth said. "This flat doesn't belong to me."

"Thanks." He said, completely ignoring her and taking a drag on it anyways. After he exhaled the smoke he glanced over at her and grinned at the seething look she had on her face.

Sighing, she made a move to get up. "I'm going to go take a shower. Please be gone by the time I get out."

….

She came out of the shower to find him lying on her bed, eating a bag of chips and drinking her milk straight out of the carton.

Sighing, she had been too tired from dancing and having sex with him earlier to argue any more. So got into bed beside him and shared the bag of chips with him until they were done. She had started to fall asleep afterwards from the exhaustion and the milk, but the cold dairy drink had had no such effect on him and he had pulled her back over and kissed her until he had coaxed her into doing it a second time that evening.

After they were done, he reached one of his bare arms over her to grab the box of cigarettes he left on the bedside table.

She tried to stop herself from saying it, but in the end she couldn't help but speak what had been on her mind. "I'm surprised you came back." She said.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, looking at the cigarette in his mouth as he lit it with a golden lighter.

"You came back." Maybe he wouldn't know what she was talking about, but many of the women she had known had told her that sometimes once men sleep with a girl they never talk to her again. "Why?"

He snapped the lighter lid shut with a flick of his hand and then closed his eyes in pleasure as he took a long drag from the cigarette and gracefully blew a ton of smoke out of his mouth. Then he looked at her.

"Why not?" He said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Author's Note: Sorry about the wait guys! I've been super busy, but if you think that even one day goes by that I don't think about this story, then you are mistaken! I want to thank everyone who favorited/reviewed/followed the last chapter. Reading your guys thoughts definitely helps me write faster!**

Chapter 7

 _"_ _But child, why do you want to leave so badly? You are fed, no? And Drachma is the land where you were born. Where you've lived your whole life…"_

As if you could call it living _. "You don't understand, do you? That place will kill me." Young Beth was trembling, and not just from the cold of wherever she was. The sorcerer that stood before her was a terrifying sight to behold. Something about his pale white hair and black eyes scared her. Scared her almost as much as what she was about to do. "A child dies there almost every week. There's not enough food and they are terribly cruel to all of us. I have to leave."_

 _Beth waited for the sorcerer to say something, but instead he folded his arms and looked at her expectantly, apparently wanting more of an explanation. Beth struggled to say what was in her heart, not because she didn't know the reason why, but she knew that whenever you were haggling over something or making a bargain, she knew you should never let the other person know just how desperate you are. Looking into the dark, deep eyes of the man who stood before her, Beth realized that there was probably not much that he didn't already know or couldn't figure out for himself, so honesty was probably her best shot. "I must be able to dance so that the lady from Amestris and her children will take me back there so I can become a rich and famous dancer."_

 _"_ _Rich and famous, eh? What about the young boy?"_

 _"_ _What young boy?"_

 _"_ _Dimitri. The orphan boy who sleeps one bed over from you, who whispers stories to you at night. Who gives you his share of dinner. Who protects you from the other orphaned children who would hurt you."_

 _She shivered._ Where was he going with this? _"What of him?"_

 _The sorcerer laughed. "Would you leave him? This boy who you must know loves you with his entire heart? This pure, kind soul? Because if you went to Amestris, and became a dancer, he would have to stay here. And you would break his heart, this boy who loves you."_

 _At this moment Beth stood up straight. She puffed up her chest and spoke from the bottom of her throat like a grown-up. "Dimitri does not love me. Men are not even capable of real love. When it comes to women, they care for us only for our beauty."_

 _"_ _You speak cynically for one so young, child."_

 _"_ _I have lived and I have learned."_

 _"_ _I see." He drawled. "Very well, let's strike a deal then shall we? Let's say that I give you a pair of dancing legs."_

 _"…_ _And what must I give you?"_

 _"_ _Nothing now, child. That is, nothing if you win. You see, I want to play a little game with you. And here is what you have to do." He held up a finger, and Beth held her breath as she waited for him to go on. "When you older, and indeed a famous dancer living in Amestris, you will have to sleep with a man. And after you do so, starting the very next moment after you make love together, you must keep him faithful to you for one year, you who do not believe in love."_

 _She considered that for a long moment. It was a strange bet to make. After all, why should she do such a thing? She supposed it was some sort of lesson, a lesson she did not care to figure out. But it could be a problem. It may be possible, if she became beautiful when she grew older. But only if she was. If she wasn't beautiful, how would she keep a man faithful?_

 _"_ _Will I be beautiful?" Beth asked. "When I am older, I mean?"_

 _"_ _You need only look in a mirror now, child, to know that you will be." He said matter-of-factly, a shine in his eye that Beth did not care to consider._

 _For a long hard moment, she thought. Keep a man faithful to her for an entire year. Impossible. Men were completely incapable of fidelity… But she didn't really have a choice. It was a bet that, when the time came, she was sure she would lose. Beautiful or not. But she was even more sure that if she didn't find a way to Amestris now, she would die soon in the orphanage._

 _"…_ _Alright. I will agree to this."_

 _"_ _I am not quite finished yet. If he does not stay faithful to you for the entire year, if he sleeps with just one other person, then you will lose the ability to dance and everything that you have. You will be in my power."_

 _She shivered, but she knew she had no choice. "I agree."_

 _He handed her a knife, and she cut her palm and dropped the blood onto his handkerchief, sealing the deal._

 _Seeing her blood seal the bet made her heart turn cold, but a part of her was already feeling better. Perhaps it could happen after all. Perhaps she could win the bet. If she could only pick a lonely, unattractive man. One who would be weak and would practically worship her…_

 _As if reading her mind, the sorcerer laughed, and Beth's heart sank. "Of course," he said, "I will pick the man for you." He went over to his desk, where he picked up the hand mirror lying there. From where she was standing, she could see a swirl of faces appearing and disappearing, and realized they must be all the men who lived in Amestris. The sorcerer's brows were drawn, he seemed to be searching for a specific type of man in particular. Finally he must have found what he was looking for, for he suddenly laughed and put the mirror down._

 _"_ _Greed." He said, laughing. "In Dublith, you must find a man named Greed."_

….

The next morning _he_ was the first one to wake up first for a change.

Beth's eyes fluttered open when she heard the sounds of him searching for his clothes on the floor and pulling them over his head.

Yawning, she sat up in bed, wearing nothing but a shirt that was much too long for her.

He grinned when he saw her sitting up, watching him. "You're awake."

She nodded, too tired to point out that it would be hard to sleep with all the noise he was making. Her auburn hair was curly and tangled over her shoulders, and she groaned internally when she thought about how she would have to take a shower shortly and then hurry to practice.

Thoughts of work and showers stopped abruptly when she felt his cold hands on her stomach suddenly.

"What are you..?" She half gasped as he pulled her shirt over her head.

"You're wearing my shirt." He explained, pulling it down over himself now gracefully. "Not that it doesn't look good on you, pigeon, but I need it back now."

She hadn't realized. But now she shivered and frowned at him and pulled the sheets around her for both warmth and modesty. It would do no good to let him see her naked this early, or she would never get him to leave.

"Pigeon?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

He winked at her. "I've seen them dance in the park before."

"When will you come back?" She asked him for what she realized was the first time. Not because she cared, but of course it was better to know when to mentally prepare herself for one of his visits.

"Hard to say," he said, zipping up his black pants, "but probably in the next few days, at least." Moving to sit on the edge of her bed, he pulled his boots on, but continued to speak, his back to her now. "I also wanted to tell you, I think that I've known you long enough now to tell you that Gifre isn't my real name, I just use it sometimes for cover."

She froze.

 _No._

 _Oh no._ _This can't be happening._

"Did you hear me?" He said.

"Yes." She said in a strangled voice.

 _Please don't let this be happening. It can't be him. Please don't let it be him. Please don't let it be…_

"My real name is Greed."

 _Greed. Of course._

In her mind, she heard the sorcerer's voice as clear as if it had been yesterday when he had spoken them. _"One year. Keep him faithful to you and only you for just one year. And if you do, then you will keep your dancing skills forever. If you lose, you will lose not only the ability to dance. You will lose everything."_

Oblivious as always, he seemed not to notice how completely shocked she still she was when he made his way over to her.

Leaning down, he kissed her goodbye on the head. "See ya later, sweetheart," and he made his way out of her room.

She sat there for just a few seconds longer, watching him go, still completely in shock, before she bounded out of bed.

Sprinting across the apartment she made it to her front door right as he was reaching for the handle.

He had just started to open it when she threw herself against the door, her arms splayed over its expanse as she stood there looking at him, gasping for breath.

 _He musn't leave._ She thought to herself. _There's no way I can trust this man out there to not sleep with some other woman. He wouldn't last two hours, and then I would be done for._

For a minute he just gazed at her, surprised, before he smiled and leaned down to kiss her once more.

"Don't worry, doll. I'll be back soon."

There was only one thing she could do to stop him from leaving.

Standing on her toes, she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to her.

She sucked on his lower lip, listening to him gasp in surprise, and rightly so. Up till now she had never been but mildly interested when they touched or kissed. She was still naked from where he had taken his shirt back, and she pressed her breasts against his chest and listened to him groan.

Her sudden passion took him completely unaware. Surrendering to her advances, he lifted her up against the door. Unzipping his pants just enough to do what he had to do, he had her against the door suddenly and violently. He only pushed into her a few times before he shuddered and she felt something warm spilling into her.

Breathing loudly, he let her go, and she slid back down to the floor while he zipped his pants back up.

"Huh." He said. There was a smile on his face that he couldn't seem to shake, and she knew that he had enjoyed their sudden tryst.

"Well," he said, "maybe I can come back sooner than a few days. Maybe I'll come back tonight."

He reached for the door again, but she still stood in his way, blocking it.

"Uh, pigeon, I really need to go now. I promise I'll be back soon…" he said as he gently tried to push her aside a little.

Panicking, she reached up a hand and slapped him.

There was a pause.

Completely wide-eyed, he stared at her in amazement.

"What the hell was that for?!"

She didn't answer.

He shook his head in wonder, muttering something about women, and once again reached for the door handle.

She slapped him again.

"Hey!" He growled.

This time he put his hands around her waist and tried to lift her away from the door.

Yelping from being suddenly lifted in the air, Beth slapped him so hard this time she could have sworn she heard something crack.

He dropped her, hissing from pain, and she watched as he wiped his lip and looked at his hand, blood on his fingers. Of course his lip healed in a few seconds, but he was mad now. They stood there for a moment, as Greed stared at her with fire in his eyes.

He took a step towards her, but she pushed him away, towards the kitchen.

She pushed him again, and then again, and then she pounced on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, crushing her face against his.

They fought with their lips and tongues, each one of them trying to gain the upper hand and neither one succeeding.

He pulled his head away from hers and bit her on the neck, hard. In return she pulled his hair so hard that clumps of it came out.

Shaking himself out of his vest, he carried her into the kitchen where he slammed her up against the wall. She cried out when she hit her head against one of the pans hanging there, and when he laughed she scratched his face.

To her surprise he laughed as blood starting running down his face and she couldn't help but smile. When he saw her face, he gathered both her wrists in one of his hands and squeezed her breast with the other. Her legs kicked out either side of his waist and she tossed her hair from side to side. Holding her wrists with one hand he undid his pants with the other. Taking advantage of his distractedness, she was able to free one of her wrists and take a pan off the wall and hit him with it.

He barely noticed when she did; by this time he had moved her down a little so that he could position himself against her and pushed himself into her, filling her to the core.

She gasped and squirmed, dropping the pan onto the ground and bit down onto his neck hard, although he didn't even seem to notice. With one hand around her waist pulling her tightly against him and the other hand against the wall, he started pushing in and out of her.

Nearly crying from the sensation, she covered her moans by biting into his neck every time she did so, and she kept her legs around his waist so tightly she knew they were going to be sore. They continued to scratch and pull at each other, and after of a few minutes of him thrusting in and out of her very vocally, he finally cried out and after a moment he let her slide to the floor.

His face was slightly flushed now, and there was sweat dripping from his hair as he gazed down at her quizzically. Pleasure, confusion, admiration, hunger. They were all there written on his face, feelings that were warring with each other to determine what his next words would be. Beth figured that confusion must have won out, because he smiled, but was clearly going to ask her a question before she reached up to cover his mouth with a finger.

He stopped, and waited for her to go on, but she said nothing. Instead she reached over and took one of his hands and led him to her small living room, and pushed him down on the floor. He watched her with surprisingly wide eyes as she pulled his pants off and climbed towards him.

They had each other on the floor, they had each other against the wall, on the kitchen table, on the counter, and on the couch. They never made it back to her bedroom, because Beth was too afraid to pause long enough for them to take a trip all the way in there.

The sun was setting when they were lying next to each other on the rug in her living room, panting from what they had just been doing, and Greed said "Wow."

Beth was sore all over. They had only taken a quick break for the restroom and for lunch, which consisted of them feeding each other strawberries and drinking alcohol. Beth could feel her eyes closing. She wanted to sleep, she wanted to rest. She thought maybe Greed was thinking the same thing, but she internally groaned when she heard him getting up.

Wrapping a blanket around her that she had grabbed off the couch, she stood up with him. "What are you doing?" She asked, not even her exhaustion masking the horror in her voice.

"I really have to leave now, Pigeon. And don't look at me like that, I'll see you soon, I swear. Today has been…" He shook his head back and forth, hands on his hips, and then gestured to her and to the room. "Well anyway, I have to head out now. I'll come back as soon as I can. "

He reached for her right before he left, picking her up and spinning her around in a kiss, and then suddenly he was gone.

Beth fell down on the couch.

That he was happy, that he would indeed come back, she had no doubts of. The smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes let her know that he had indeed enjoyed their day together. But her memory of his joyful face faded all too quickly after he left.

How long would he remember her, out there in the city? How long until someone with that much stamina found someone else to spend the night with? It wasn't as if she was jealous at all, not even a little.

But she remembered what the sorcerer had said. If Greed were to sleep with even one other girl besides her in the next year, she would lose everything.

Leaning back, Beth closed her eyes. It was best to get some rest now. Because when she woke up, she would have to come up with a plan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

Chapter 8

It occurred to Beth the next morning that she only had two options: go out and try to find to him, or wait around her apartment until he returned, whenever that might be.

The only clue she had as to his whereabouts was that he stayed at, or at least owned, a place called "The Devil's Nest". It might mean a trip to the bad side of town, but Beth wasn't too worried about that. But she suddenly thought that she had no idea who Greed truly was. For the sorcerer to have chosen him must mean he was special in some way. It could be the Homunculus thing, but what if it was something more? What if she had stumbled upon something bigger than she knew? There was even the possibility that it might be better to lose the bet she had made with the sorcerer….

No. Not that. Never that. She had to try to remember that nothing was worth that happening. She would take her chances with Greed. And who knows? Maybe she really could get him to stay faithful for the year. What was that expression she had heard Greed himself use a few times? "Anything is possible."

In the end she just decided to stay home and wait for him. The only thing worse than going out and not finding him, and letting him wander around Dublith without her supervision, was if he came home and she wasn't here. It was a long shot, but there was always the possibility that he might show up and decide that her absence meant that she didn't want to have anything more to do with him. Of course, not that that had ever stopped him before, but still. These things seem to happen when you don't want them to.

So she waited.

And nearly jumped out of her skin when he practically kicked the front door in a few days later.

"Oh, god. It's you." She said, standing up off the couch.

"Oh, god. It's me." He said, smiling and spreading his arms out, almost like he expected her to jump into them.

Maybe it was that gesture, or perhaps it was her stress and nerves, but she suddenly couldn't help shouting at him, "Where have you been?! It's been two whole days!"

He frowned and furrowed his brow in confusion, which made him look funny since his arms were still out. "Huh?"

"You-", Beth stopped herself. What was she thinking? She suddenly realized how needy and paranoid she had just sounded. Acting like he was her husband coming in late from work and playing the part herself of the naggy wife was probably not the way to keep him coming back. "Never mind. I was just wondering where you went. I…missed you." Her last words sounded wrong, even to her. She nearly rolled her eyes when she said them, but she supposed that they were the kind of words you were supposed to say to a man when you were a woman who was pretending to like him. If he thought they sounded strange coming from her, he didn't give any indication.

"Wow, Pigeon. What a compliment. I was half hoping you were going to yell at me for kicking the door in. Ah well." His voice was lower now as he made his way over to her and pulled her into his arms.

He ran a finger down her cheek. "You know, I've been thinking about the other day."

"Oh, uh, yeah?"

"Yeah, heh heh. It was nice, kid. I especially enjoyed when you-" He went on to describe some of the details of their last encounter for quite a while, and in vivid detail, until her whole face was red and she was half wishing she was dead.

"Mmhmm." She said when he had finished and was watching her face, waiting for a reply.

"Well how 'bout it, doll?" He said leaning his face close to hers until his mouth was on her ear and she could feel his warm breath.

"How about what?"

"We pick up where we left? Right now?"

"I uh...yes. Alright."

She could feel him smile against her skin and then suddenly she was in his arms and he was making their way to her bedroom.

…

Later that night she watched him while he slept. What was wrong with her? There was so much she had planned on doing when he finally came back…questions she wanted to ask to get a better idea of who he was now that she knew she would be stuck with him for at least a year. Where exactly was the Devil's Nest? Who was he really? Could he give her more details about the whole homunculus thing?

So much for that. Beth couldn't help it though…when he was around her she got distracted and found it hard to keep her head clear. He had a very commanding presence that made it hard for her to stick to her own agenda. She could wake him up now, but when she looked at his face she knew she wouldn't. In the morning. She would ask him the next morning.

….

And of course this morning she woke up alone. He had left before her, and not even bothered to say goodbye. Beth tried not to take that as a sign. It was nothing, probably just nothing.

Her walk to work was brisk and hazy; she hardly remembered the trip at all when she arrived at the dance studio. When she danced she tried hard not to look like she was thinking about something else, since the twins were already suspicious about her attentions being focused on things besides her dancing, and it must have worked because no one came up to her and said anything about her acting distracted or far away although the entire time she was wondering what to do about this Greed situation.

It all boiled down to one question: Could a man stay faithful for that long? Based on most of the men Beth had known personally, she doubted it. From out of the blue Beth suddenly remembered that little boy she had been such good friends with when she was an orphan girl in Drachma, Dimitri. He had been sweet…but by now he wouldn't be the sweet-faced boy she had known, he would be a man like any other. So no. If male fidelity was possible, she had never witnessed it first hand.

Beth thought about all this while she took her dancing shoes off in the changing room. She had thought she was the last dancer left at the studio, but a few minutes passed and she was surprised when another dancer named Vicki came in. Beth didn't know many of the other dancers; she knew her male partner fairly well but the rest of them were mostly a mystery. The majority of them had lived very different lives from her own. It wasn't uncommon in Amestris for many of the wealthier families to enroll their children, specifically their daughters, in dancing from a young age. As poor as Beth was, she had been lucky by getting to train under the twin's and their mother. _Not lucky,_ she reminded herself _, you paid a high price for that privilege._

But even though she didn't know Vicki very well, she had a kinder face than most of the other dancers. And once when Beth had lost the ribbon she usually tied her hair up with when she danced, Vicki had lent her one of hers. So that was something.

"Hey, Vicki, can I ask you a question?"

Vicki didn't seem surprised that Beth was talking to her for maybe the second time ever. In fact, she didn't even look up from the shoes she was tying.

"I've seen a guy waiting outside for you sometimes. Is he your brother or something?"

"Oh that's Rick. He's my boyfriend actually."

"Oh, your boyfriend? Wow, that's great Vicki. How long have you too been together?" Beth had actually seen them kissing outside a few times, so she had known that whoever the guy was was Vicki's boyfriend, but she found this to be a better transition to get the information she was after.

"We've been together two years next month."

"Wow. Congratulations. So how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep him by your side?"

Now Vicki stopped what she was doing. "Excuse me?"

"I just mean, how do you keep him faithful?"

"What do you mean how do I keep him faithful? I don't do anything." She was blushing now and her head was turned away. Beth could tell that she was making her uncomfortable but she couldn't stop; she had to know.

"Listen Vicki, you see… I uh, started seeing this guy. You can't tell Errol or Adeline about it. It's none of their business. Besides, it won't interfere with my dancing like they seem to think it will. But the thing is I'm…uh…in love with him. Madly in love. Really. And obviously, I worry about him leaving me. So I need to hear any secrets or advice you could give me to keep him from leaving."

"I'm happy for you Beth! Really I am. I've always thought you seemed sort of sad and lonely compared to all of the other people here…But I can't help you. I don't have any secrets."

"Please, Vicki. I really need your help."

"Beth, there's no secret. There's no advice. He loves me and I love him back. That's all."

Beth had had enough of this. "Fine, don't help me."

"Wait, Beth-"

"No just stop. I came to you asking for help and you refuse to give it. You're the only person who can help me and you're too selfish to help me. And as for the other option, if you actually believe that he stays faithful because he loves you, or that he will stay faithful to you forever, is just pathetic. One day he'll just leave without a warning or anything and you'll be an old woman wondering where your life went and why it's ending alone."

There was a long pause.

It was quiet as Beth thought about the best way to apologize. She knew she had crossed some kind of line, but she froze when she saw tears on Vicki's cheeks.

"Oh, Vicki. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…"

Vicki whispered something under her breath. She said it so quietly, it took Beth a moment to realize what it was that she had said.

"Bitch."

…

It was dark when Beth made her way back home. Today had not been a good day. All the way home she had seen Vicki's crying face in her head. She felt so sick she wanted to throw up. And then, on the way home, she had stopped at the store and bought some handcuffs.

Beth decided the time for playing around was over. She bought the most expensive pair that the store had. The guy at the shop told her that the strongest man in Amestris couldn't break his way out of these. They weren't as heavy as she would have thought, but for some reason they felt like a crushing weight in her bag as she walked back to the apartment. But she knew she had no choice. The only way to be sure that Greed stayed faithful was to make sure he couldn't leave. She would handcuff him to the headboard above the couch, and that would be that. He would be O.K. She would bring him food, books, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol. And it was just for one year.

But Beth was still afraid. She had never seen him angry before, not seriously. He always seemed to have this "devil may care" attitude like nothing bothered him, but it was hard to imagine that her keeping him prisoner in her house wouldn't make him angry. Oh well.

When she opened the door to her apartment, he was standing in the kitchen cooking something in a pot.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making tea."

"Tea? You're making tea?"

He grinned at her. "Surprised?"

She set her purse on the table and folded her arms. "Well, yes actually. It's not something I would typically picture you doing."

"Well, wait and see. This tea isn't what you think."

That gave her pause for a moment before she fully realized what he was saying.

"You're putting something in it!"

"Hahaha! You're slow today Pigeon. And yes, I think you could stand to loosen up a little."

She started to roll her eyes but stopped when he started to make his way over to her purse.

"What are you doing?" She said, grabbing her bag and clutching it to her chest. The handcuffs were still in there.

"I'm getting the 'stuff'. What do you think?"

"Wait, why would they be in my purse?" She asked, looking down at in confusion.

"I forgot I had some in my pocket when I came over here a few weeks ago, so I put them in your purse. The last thing I need is for someone from the military to stop me for something so petty."

"So you've been letting me walk around with drugs in my purse for the last few weeks?"

"Oh relax, it's just opium."

"I can't believe you!"

He sighed. "Sweetheart, you don't have to worry. One look at you and no official would have it in him to lock you up. Your face is too sweet."

"Screw you."

"Please. But first…" He reached for her purse and she tried to yank it away.

It was no use.

There was a quick struggle and then the contents fell out and scattered onto the floor.

The handcuffs front and center.

He stared down at them quizzically for a long time before he bent down and picked them up, an unusual and somewhat quirky smile on his face.

"Well well."

She covered half her face with her hand, terrified of what he was about to say.

"You always surprise me, Pigeon." His voice wasn't angry like she had expected it to be, but somehow strangely husky and low. "If this is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask."

She was confused at how calmly he was taking this. "Well I thought…" She started to say, but then it finally dawned on her what he meant, and her eyes grew wide with terror. "Oh, no. No! That's not what I meant at all… I just…" She started stuttering around and she knew it just made it seem more like that's what she had been thinking.

He waited for her to go on, still smiling and holding the handcuffs out expectantly.

"I wanted," She started to say, but then suddenly an idea came to her. "I mean, they're not for me. They're for _you._ "

Even though she was nervous that her plan was being put into action sooner than she had expected, she couldn't help but be amused as his eyes actually got wide. The shock was only on his face for a minute before it was replaced with pure delight and lust.

….

An hour later they were sitting together on the couch.

"Wow." He said once again that night, his hands still handcuffed over his head. "That was…well…" He laughed and leaned over to kiss her on the head.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Beth said, not meeting his eyes.

"I didn't even know you had it in you, kid." He turned to face her, his face still sweaty, and a lazy smile on his face. "Your turn now."

"Um, no. Not yet." She hoped that he would fall asleep first, and that way when he woke up and discovered that he was stuck here, he would still be groggy from sleep.

"No?" He laughed, still thinking she was joking, "I'll be the judge of that, kid."

Then she watched with wide eyes as he tugged on the link and broke the handcuffs that were supposed to be indestructible as easily as if they had been made of glass.

For a minute she was speechless, and as he leaned down to take her in his arms and kiss her, the metal still around his now free hands, she realized that he was even stronger then she had thought.

 _He's good._ She thought. _I'm going to need a new plan of attack._


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I want to apologize for the super long absence! I've been so busy with school and what not, and to be honest I kinda fell out of the rhythm of writing this story. I want to thank everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed the story, your support means a lot! Really and truly, it was the last couple of reviews I got, from thegirlwhocriedink, Eos Raidkin and TheGreatDebator that got me back on track with this story. I'm sorry if the chapter is short but I'm still getting back into it! You all will have to stay on me so I don't not update this story for a long time again!**

 **Also, I apologize for posting this chapter yesterday and then almost immediately taking it down. Someone pointed out that there was html in the body and that it was unreadable, so thank you for pointing that out! It was really strange, too, because I don't think that's ever happened to me before and I didn't do anything differently posting. Oh well. Stupid computer.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

 **Nine**

Beth realized now that she would need to rethink how she went about things.

Yesterday had been very close. When she saw him break those handcuffs, she realized, what if she had not played along yesterday? What if he had known she was going to try and keep him a prisoner before he showed her how easily he could escape? Would he have hurt her?

Everything could have been over right then and there. Would he have realized there was something wrong with her and left and never returned? Not to mention things would have been a little awkward...

She knew, too, that she needed to stop holding on so tightly. The more she tried to hold him back the more he would try to leave. She had to try to remind herself that she had avoided him for a long time before she finally let him in. And it had been _that,_ the playing hard to get, that he had found so irresistible. Continuing to play it off this way was her best bet.

It was just so difficult to do when her every instinct was telling her to lock him in a basement somewhere where she could keep an eye on him.

She was thinking about this in bed after he had already left this morning. Lying awake, staring at the light coming in through the window, she decided that she would be late for practice today. Instead she would walk around the city and think about this.

…

The sun was shining; it was nice out. She walked and the city streets twisted and turned until they took her down one of the meaner streets of the city. She avoided these streets as a rule; but when she did chance by them she sure as hell kept her head down. Maybe it was just that she was agitated, maybe it was that she was asking for trouble or maybe it was just Greed's influence on her, but for once she started walking slowly. Instead of looking at the road she started staring back at some of the rougher looking characters that she crossed.

She was looking for a street sign, suddenly thinking she was lost, when she saw an interesting sign in one of the buildings.

"The Devil's Nest."

She was still wearing the coat she had had on the night she met Greed; she just had the one. Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out the card that he had given her that night. "The Devil's Nest." The same words as the sign.

She almost turned and went back to dance practice, but instead she hesitated. _Why not?_ She asked herself. She was all in now, after all.

She took the steps down into the building, but the door was locked. She knocked twice and a deep voice answered.

"Who is it?"

"Umm…My name is Beth."

The door opened and a tall, older man looked down at her. He looked her up and down, and then stepped aside and let her in. "Follow me."

The place was dark and quiet, but there were low noises she could hear. People's voices mostly. It wasn't very homey, and it seemed more like a place to hide than to live. Beth guessed that was probably the idea.

The tall man's voice pulled her out of her observations. "Name's Roa. You must be new. I haven't seen you around before."

"…umm…yeah. I suppose I am new."

He went on in that gruff voice of his. "It's strange. Mr. Greed really hasn't been spending that much time with the usual women who follow him. In fact, I think a lot of them have given up coming here." He looked over and saw the expression of horror on her face, but misunderstood it. "Hey, look, I'm just telling this so you don't wait here too long if he doesn't show. He's been out a lot, usually working or spending his nights elsewhere." A thought clearly crossed his face, and his expression changed. "Say, that wouldn't happen to be your place he's been staying at night, would it?" She didn't say anything, but she was sure the blush spreading across her cheeks was pretty damning evidence.

He led her into a room that was at least more furnished than the others. There was a sofa and a bar in the back. "You can make yourself a drink if you like."

"Thanks." She mumbled as his footsteps echoed away down the hall. She was the only one in the room, and after an hour or so she did make a drink. He had some pretty strong liquor and she was a little dizzy when she had had a few sips. She had almost had enough whiskey to work up the confidence to go somewhere else and ask some questions about what this place was and what else Greed did as a homunculus, when she heard snatches of voices out in the hall.

"…girl…waiting for you…" That was Roa's voice.

"Oh, yeah?" She could hear the smile in the question. She gulped. That was Greed's voice.

He came into the room, and the first thing she noticed was the two people behind him. One was a woman, curiously enough, but she could tell at once that there was nothing romantic going on between her and Greed. The man on his other side was short, and he had, of all things, a tail. Well, she had seen it all now, hadn't she?

After that, she had the surprise and satisfaction of seeing Greed look well and truly shocked for the first time. He quickly composed himself though, and grinned widely.

"Beth?"

She gave a shy little wave.

He flopped down on the couch beside her. His followers started arranging themselves around the room talking amongst themselves, both the humans and the ones that were clearly non-human. Greed put an arm around her shoulders. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"I was just passing through. I remembered you mentioning the place; I thought I would stop and say hello."

His eyes were shining. "You just couldn't bear to be away from me any longer huh?"

"No-" She started to protest, but he called out some other names. "Dolcetto! Martel! Bido! Come and meet my girl, here." She waved and shook hands with some of the "chimeras", as Greed referred to them, that were eyeing her rather curiously. The girl, Martel, reached out an arm that was contorted to over three feet long.

"Call for some musicians. And more alcohol! This is a party. It's not everyday my little ballerina stops by to say hi."

Musicians did come. Scary looking people who looked like they were strung out on drugs, but who nonetheless played pretty well. Other people came in, bringing alcohol and other things. Strange, odd looking characters. Beth looked at them and looked back to Greed's chimeras and thought what a motley looking crew they all were.

There was laughter beside her. "What?"

"Nothing. What do you think about all of this?"

Beth pressed a cold beer to her lips. Greed had convinced her to have another drink and toasted her, his bottle clinking against her own. "I was thinking how different it was from any of the galas or balls that I've danced at."

"Yeah, I bet! A lot different from your usual hoity toity stuff, huh? These people, they're real. And they're all mine. They're loyal and they do what I say. They aren't the most well bred bunch, I'll give you that, but they follow me. It's better to be in charge of people like them than to serve the greatest master in Amestris."

His voice had taken on a strange tone at the end. She wasn't really sure what to make of it. It was strange…there was anger, but mixed with something that seemed like regret. And something else, too. But she doubted even he knew what that was. She decided to take a shot and ask him.

"You like all these people, don't you? They're your…friends." She struggled to find the right words.

He turned to her abruptly. "Pfft. What? They're my possessions. My things. They do what I say and what I want. I don't have friends, and I don't want friends either. "

"But why not? You're always saying how much you want money and sex and power and this and that. Why shouldn't friendship be another thing that you want? Or love?" This last part she said quietly.

He said nothing for a minute. Beth brushed some hair behind her ear and looked up at him.

He was looking at her like she was crazy. But also like he was amused.

He shook his head. "You've got some wild ideas, pigeon."

She rolled her eyes. She could feel her face turning red, but he took her chin and turned her head back up to his.

He winked. "But that's what I like about you."

He kissed her then, long and slow, but also hard and angry, like he did everything. Beth hoped none of the others were watching.

Eventually he led her back to the room where he apparently slept. It was dark, and there were things scattered everywhere. He was a collector, which shouldn't have surprised her. His name was Greed, after all. But she didn't get to look around as much as she would have liked to. He was pretty focused at that point on other things.

…

Afterwards, she lay awake as she heard him sleeping softly next to her. She kept on thinking about his voice, how it had sounded when he had talked about Dolcetto, Martel and the others. He could say whatever he wanted about them being servants or possessions or whatever. She knew what she had heard. There had almost been real affection in his voice. Beth held on to that. It gave her hope. Hope for her, at least. If he really was capable of friendship and affection, then it was perfectly possible that he might feel the same for her. And that…that might very well keep him faithful in itself. But thinking this way wasn't healthy, she knew. Because then she started thinking about love and if that were possible. And she had to stop then. Because she wouldn't let herself think that way. Greed love her? It was ridiculous. It might solve a lot of her problems…a man in love was more likely to stay loyal, right? But she just didn't have that kind of luck.

But lying next to him that night, his bare arm lying across her stomach and his head buried in her neck, she felt something that she didn't want to admit to even herself. Something that felt almost like tenderness.

This was not good at all.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.**

TEN

Despite the strange and unsettling experience Beth had at the Devil's Nest, it wasn't the last trip she took there. She was busy with dance practice most of the time, and she still went to the library when she could, but lately she sometimes chose the Devil's Nest as her place of choice when she had some free time. More often than not, Greed wasn't even there when she got there. But she was getting to know the chimeras pretty well and oddly enough she always felt welcomed by them, even if they _were_ an intimidating bunch.

Listening to their sad histories made her feel more connected to them more than she usually did to most people. In her own selfish world she had always considered herself to be the unluckiest person on the planet. Talking to them reminded her that there were people who had it off worse than she did.

It was strange to consider how much her life had changed since she met Greed. Before, she had really had spent almost all her time alone. Now when she was home there was Timmy the bird and usually Greed too. When she wasn't in practice or school she could always come here to the Devil's nest where there was Martel and Roa and the like…

But even stranger to consider was how much they all looked up to Greed, like he was some kind of hero. The way they told it, he had rescued them from all of their unhappy lives. When she laid out all the facts, it almost seemed like Greed did have some good qualities.

Like the other night, when she came home from practice, he had told her to cover her eyes.

She was instantly suspicious. "What? Why?"

They had argued and he had finally dragged her into the room and covered her eyes with his own hand.

When he told her to open, there was a brand new bookshelf standing in her room, all of the shelves full of brand new books.

"What…how…"

"A buddy of mine owes me a few favors. I had Roa and Dolcetto move it into your apartment while you were gone today."

"No, I mean, how did you know that I…"

"Like books? I used to wait for you outside the library, remember? And you think I don't notice how you switch on the light after you think I'm asleep and pull out a book from under the pillow?"

She blushed. It always surprised and amazed her how much he seemed to notice.

She didn't know what to say. Finally, she decided on the two words that were most appropriate for the situation. "Thank you."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Don't mention it, kid."

She looked up at him from under her lashes, longer than she should have. He was so tall. And his arms were crossed over his chest, accentuating his muscular arms. His black eyes were shining as he noticed her noticing him. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she thought the whole neighborhood must be able to hear it.

"You know," she said, slowly taking off her jacket and throwing it onto the floor, "you can be surprisingly generous sometimes." She took a step closer to him.

He matched her step for step until he was so close he had to turn her head up to look at his face. "I hate to burst your bubble, pigeon, but I never do anything generous."

"No?"

"Nope. When I do something for someone, it's because I expect to get even more in return."

"And what did-"

Her words were cut off as she burst into laughter when he grabbed her and they both fell onto her bed.

…

Later that night, she pulled a book out from under her pillow and started to read.

She was pretty engrossed in the story when she heard rustling behind her. He groaned with sleep, his eyes blinking from the dim lamp she had switched on.

She reached to turn it off. "I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep."

He caught her by the arm, stopping her. His voice was still slightly groggy. "It's okay, I don't need as much sleep as you do."

"Oh, that's right." She turned back onto her side and flipped to the page she had been on last. Instead of turning to the side facing away from the light, he came up right behind her and threw an arm around her waist.

She thought his eyes were closed until she came to a funny part in the book. Behind her, she heard him softly chuckle.

He did it again when she came to another funny bit.

They carried on like that almost the entire night, her reading a book and him following along with her over her shoulder.

And then for the next several nights after that.

….

 _Far away in Drachma, a sorcerer looked on into the fire, and saw pictures of people and places, near and far._

 _Flickers of the country to the south appeared, and he paused. Stepping closer to the fire, he looked closer at the goings-on of Amestris. "I wonder how my little dancer is getting on these days."_

 _It had been several years since he had made the bargain with Beth. Unparalleled dancing skills that could take her anywhere she wanted, as long as she was able to keep the homunculus Greed faithful to her. Fail to do that, and she would lose everything. And he would win everything he had been wanting for the last almost twenty years._

 _And he knew she would fail._

 _He was one of the few people who knew about the existence of homunculi, and he even knew about Father. Whether any of them knew about him, he did not know. He doubted it. Amestris was a country of science. Of technology. The people of Drachma had much more respect for the old ways, and several of them still believed in magic, wisely. Beth had been one such child, which was how she ended up approaching him about the bargain. But soon she would have to pay._

 _There were easier ways he knew to win this bargain, but he liked drama. And games. And he had found it irresistible to imagine someone trying to keep a homunculus faithful. The only way that it could happen would require the homunculus to fall in love. And he knew that was impossible. It could as easily have been one of the others, Wrath or Envy perhaps, but Greed seemed the most like a real man. One of the others and Beth wouldn't have had a shot to begin with, besides maybe Lust. And Greed was just hot blooded enough for it to be a challenge._

 _He knew the two of them had met recently, but he also knew that so far she had indeed managed to keep him faithful. He was impressed. Beth was lovely and special, he knew. But it was truly impressive to have kept Greed faithful to her this long from what he knew of the man._

 _He looked closer now, and he could see the two of them together._

 _He couldn't hear what they were saying. Well he could, but that would require too much power and energy than he was prepared to sacrifice at the moment._

 _But he could see their faces._

 _They were playing some type of card time, not at Beth's place. It must be the Devil's Nest. Greed was sitting at the table, and there were other men there too in a circle. Beth was standing behind Greed, her arm around his shoulder._

 _He was saying something to her, frequently looking up at her face but also turning around to the other gamblers as if to let them know he was serious about the game, too._

 _Whatever he said made her laugh._

 _He held up his cards and she blew a kiss at them for luck._

 _With a quick and violent swish the sorcerer threw his cape over the fire, smothering it to ashes._

 _He had to think about this for a moment. The look on Greed's face was startling. His eyes had shined when he looked at Beth. It shouldn't have been that surprising…for him to have stayed loyal this long there had to be some manner of devotion there._

 _It was the look on Beth's face that worried him. She had looked at Greed almost like she cared._

Was he in trouble?

 _No. Impossible._

 _But he might need to call in some help to deal with this situation, if things started to get out of hand._

 _He walked away from the smothered fire, smoke still rising up in the air._


End file.
